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HF2033 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to the provision of accessible prescription-related measures for persons who are blind, have a visual impairment, or other print disability.(See HF 2585 .)

A bill for an act relating to the provision of accessible prescription-related measures for persons who are blind, have a visual impairment, or other print disability.(See HF 2585 .)

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
BARKER
Last action
2026-03-16
Official status
Withdrawn. H.J. 672 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to the provision of accessible prescription-related measures for persons who are blind, have a visual impairment, or other print disability.(See HF 2585 .)

A bill for an act relating to the provision of accessible prescription-related measures for persons who are blind, have a visual impairment, or other print disability.(See HF 2585 .)

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to the provision of accessible prescription-related measures for persons who are blind, have a visual impairment, or other print disability.(See HF 2585 .)

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-16 Iowa Legislature

    Withdrawn. H.J. 672 .

  2. 2026-03-09 Iowa Legislature

    Sponsor added, Young. H.J. 614 .

  3. 2026-02-18 Iowa Legislature

    Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 2585 .

  4. 2026-02-16 Iowa Legislature

    Committee vote: Yeas, 22. Nays, 0. Excused, 1. H.J. 313 .

  5. 2026-02-16 Iowa Legislature

    Committee report, recommending amendment and passage. H.J. 313 .

  6. 2026-01-28 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee recommends passage.

  7. 2026-01-24 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee Meeting: 01/28/2026 12:00PM RM 102.

  8. 2026-01-20 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee: Barker, Wilson and Young. H.J. 125 .

  9. 2026-01-14 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Commerce. H.J. 74 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to the provision of accessible prescription-related measures for persons who are blind, have a visual impairment, or other print disability.(See HF 2585 .)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
House

File

2033

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

2033

BY

BARKER

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

the

provision

of

accessible

1

prescription-related

measures

for

persons

who

are

blind,

2

have

a

visual

impairment,

or

other

print

disability.

3

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

4

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Section

1.

NEW

SECTION

.

155A.49

Accessible

1

prescription-related

measures

——

persons

who

are

blind,

2

visually

impaired,

or

have

other

print

disabilities.

3

1.

As

used

in

this

section,

unless

the

context

otherwise

4

requires,

“health

carrier”

means

an

entity

subject

to

the

5

insurance

laws

and

regulations

of

this

state,

or

subject

to

6

the

jurisdiction

of

the

commissioner

of

insurance,

including

7

an

insurance

company

offering

sickness

and

accident

plans,

a

8

health

maintenance

organization,

a

nonprofit

health

service

9

corporation,

or

a

plan

established

pursuant

to

chapter

509A

for

10

public

employees.

“Health

carrier”

does

not

include

any

of

the

11

following:

12

a.

The

department

of

health

and

human

services.

13

b.

A

policy

or

contract

providing

a

prescription

drug

14

benefit

pursuant

to

42

U.S.C.

ch.

7,

subch.

XVIII,

part

D.

15

c.

A

plan

offered

or

maintained

by

a

multiple

employer

16

welfare

arrangement

established

under

chapter

513D

before

17

January

1,

2022.

18

2.

The

board

shall

adopt

rules

pursuant

to

chapter

17A

19

to

ensure

that

on

or

before

January

1,

2027,

if

a

person

who

20

is

blind,

has

a

visual

impairment,

or

other

print

disability

21

requests

access

to

prescription

drug

labels,

bag

tags,

and

22

medical

guides,

a

pharmacy

provides

access

to

prescription

drug

23

labels,

bag

tags,

and

medical

guides,

or

refers

the

person

to

24

a

pharmacy

within

a

reasonable

distance

that

provides

access

25

to

prescription

drug

labels,

bag

tags,

and

medical

guides.

26

The

accessibility

measures

shall

meet

all

of

the

following

27

requirements:

28

a.

Be

provided

at

no

additional

cost

to

such

persons.

29

b.

After

a

reasonable

development

period

for

the

pharmacy,

30

provide

required

information

on

prescription

drug

labels,

bag

31

tags,

and

medical

guides

in

a

format

that

is

fully

accessible

32

to

such

persons

within

a

time

frame

comparable

to

a

person

that

33

is

not

blind,

does

not

have

a

visual

impairment,

or

other

print

34

disability.

35

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3.

On

or

before

April

1

of

each

year,

the

board

shall

1

publish

a

list

on

the

board’s

internet

site

that

contains

the

2

pharmacies

that

provide

accessibility

measures.

3

4.

A

health

carrier

shall

pay

an

enhanced

dispensing

fee

to

4

reimburse

the

costs

associated

with

the

accessibility

measures

5

under

this

section.

6

5.

This

section

shall

apply

to

any

pharmacy

that

is

7

dispensing

prescription

drugs

in

the

state

except

for

the

8

following:

9

a.

An

institutional

pharmacy.

For

the

purpose

of

this

10

subsection,

“institutional

pharmacy”

means

a

pharmacy

located

11

within

a

hospital,

nursing

home,

or

long-term

care

facility.

12

b.

A

pharmacy

participating

in

a

prescription

drug

donation

13

repository

program

pursuant

to

chapter

135M,

if

the

drug

being

14

dispensed

was

donated

under

the

program.

15

c.

A

pharmacy

in

a

jail,

a

state

correctional

institution,

a

16

federal

correctional

facility,

or

a

juvenile

detention

home.

17

6.

In

adopting

rules

under

this

section,

the

board

shall

18

solicit

input

from

persons

who

are

blind,

have

a

visual

19

impairment,

or

other

print

disability.

20

7.

The

rules

adopted

under

this

section

shall

meet

all

of

21

the

following

requirements:

22

a.

Comply

with

current

guidelines

and

recommendations

from

23

the

United

States

government

accountability

office,

and

current

24

industry

standards.

25

b.

Include

a

method

for

providing

notice

to

the

public

26

that

accessible

prescription

drug

labels,

bag

tags,

and

27

medical

guides

are

available,

including

notice

regarding

the

28

availability

of

the

prescription

drug

labels,

bag

tags,

and

29

medical

guides

in

audio

format.

30

Sec.

2.

ACCESSIBLE

PRESCRIPTION-RELATED

MEASURES

——

31

REPORT.

The

board

of

pharmacy

shall

submit

a

report

to

the

32

governor

and

the

general

assembly

on

or

before

January

1,

33

2028,

that

provides

a

summary

of

the

progress

on

implementing

34

rules,

and

recommendations

for

additional

measures

to

improve

35

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accessibility.

1

EXPLANATION

2

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

3

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

4

This

bill

relates

to

the

provision

of

accessible

5

prescription-related

measures

for

persons

who

are

blind,

have

a

6

visual

impairment,

or

other

print

disability.

7

The

bill

requires

the

board

of

pharmacy

(board)

to

adopt

8

administrative

rules

on

or

before

January

1,

2027,

to

ensure

9

that

if

a

person

who

is

blind,

has

a

visual

impairment,

or

10

other

print

disability

requests

access

to

prescription

drug

11

labels,

bag

tags,

and

medical

guides,

a

pharmacy

provides

12

access

to

such,

or

refers

the

person

to

a

pharmacy

within

a

13

reasonable

distance

that

provides

access

to

prescription

drug

14

labels,

bag

tags,

and

medical

guides.

15

The

bill

provides

that

accessibility

measures

shall

be

16

provided

by

a

pharmacy

at

no

additional

cost

to

such

person;

17

and

information

required

to

be

provided

on

prescription

drug

18

labels,

bag

tags,

and

medical

guides

shall

be

provided

in

a

19

format

that

is

fully

accessible

to

such

persons

within

a

time

20

frame

comparable

to

a

person

who

is

not

blind,

does

not

have

a

21

visual

impairment,

or

other

print

disability.

22

The

bill

requires

the

board

to

publish,

on

or

before

April

1

23

of

each

year,

a

list

on

the

board’s

internet

site

of

pharmacies

24

that

provide

accessibility

measures.

25

Under

the

bill,

a

health

carrier

shall

pay

an

enhanced

26

dispensing

fee

to

pharmacies

to

reimburse

the

costs

associated

27

with

the

bill.

“Health

carrier”

is

defined

in

the

bill.

28

The

bill

applies

to

any

pharmacy

dispensing

prescription

29

drugs

in

the

state

except

for

an

institutional

pharmacy;

a

30

pharmacy

participating

in

a

prescription

drug

repository

31

program

under

Code

chapter

135M,

if

the

drug

being

dispensed

32

was

donated

under

the

program;

a

pharmacy

in

a

jail,

a

state

33

correctional

institution,

a

federal

correctional

facility,

or

34

a

juvenile

detention

home.

The

bill

defines

“institutional

35

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2033

pharmacy”.

1

Under

the

bill,

the

board

is

required

to

solicit

input

2

in

developing

the

rules

from

persons

who

are

blind,

have

a

3

visual

impairment,

or

other

print

disability.

The

rules

shall

4

comply

with

guidelines

and

recommendations

from

the

United

5

States

government

accountability

office

and

current

industry

6

standards,

and

shall

include

a

method

for

providing

notice

to

7

the

public

that

accessible

prescription

drug

labels,

bag

tags,

8

and

medical

guides

are

available.

9

Under

the

bill,

the

board

shall

submit

a

report

to

the

10

governor

and

the

general

assembly

on

or

before

January

1,

11

2028,

that

provides

a

summary

on

the

progress

on

implementing

12

rules,

and

recommendations

and

additional

measures

to

improve

13

accessibility.

14

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