Empowering Change: Lobbying for Labeling Laws

 

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Imagine a world where everyone, regardless of their visual or cognitive abilities, can safely and independently access their medication label information to make health and medication related decisions. This vision can become a reality through accessible prescription labeling laws. 

The Current Challenge

For millions of people with visual impairments or cognitive disabilities, reading standard prescription labels is a daily struggle. This can lead to medication errors, which are not only dangerous but also preventable. Accessible prescription labeling laws ensure that everyone has the information they need in a format they can understand.

Why It Matters

1. Safety First: Clear and accessible labels can prevent medication errors, ensuring that individuals take the right medication, the right way, at the right time.
2. Independence: Accessible labels empower people to manage their health independently, boosting their confidence and quality of life and allowing them to live in the community setting longer.
3. Equality: Equal access to information to make healthcare decisions is a human right. 

How You Can Help

Lobbying for accessible prescription labeling laws is a powerful way to make a difference. Here's how you can get involved:

1. Educate Yourself: Learn about the current laws and the gaps that need to be filled. Knowledge is power!
2. Raise Awareness: Share information about the importance of accessible labeling on social media, in community groups, and with friends and family.
3. Contact Your Representatives: Write to your state representatives and state board of pharmacy. Let them know why accessible prescription labeling is important to you and your community.
4. Join Advocacy Groups: Connect with organizations that are already working towards this goal. Your support can amplify their efforts.

Political Determinants of Health

In his article "Health Justice Can't Be Blind" Daniel E. Dawes, JD. writes: "it is actually the political determinants of health that provide us with the greatest opportunity to not only ameliorate the disparities that we have long struggled with, but do so in a just and durable fashion."  Health justice begins with policies that lead to equal opportunity to attain one's full health potential.

Conclusion

Accessible prescription labeling is not just a necessity; it is a civil right. By lobbying for these laws, you are advocating for a safer, more inclusive world. Your voice can drive change. These laws help ensure that everyone has the tools they need to manage their health with confidence and dignity.

 2025 Legislatures Up and Running...

More than ever people are realizing how important it is to have laws and policies ensconced in state statue so they can continue to be enforced even when federal rules fluctuate from term to term.  FDA rules specifying how drug manufactures need to label wholesale containers have been in place for decades however, there has never been specific rules for the consumer side.  Prescription container label information is determined by individual state boards of pharmacy. 

This year we see several more states introducing legislation to codify in state statute how pharmacies are to accommodate their blind and visually impaired consumers with accessible prescription labeling.

New York S1740 https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S1740

Utah HB123 https://le.utah.gov/~2025/bills/static/HB0123.html 

Missouri HB360 https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB360&year=2025&code=R

Most likely Ohio, Iowa, and Michigan will also re-introduce bills that didn't make the cut off deadlines last session. We will keep you posted!

 

2024 Review & Preview 2025

There were many steps forward toward making prescription labels safer in 2024.  Nine accessible labeling bills were introduced and four of them passed in California, Virginia, Colorado, and Minnesota. New laws and rules are setting precedence for those that follow. Here are a few examples:

• In 2022 Tennessee’s law required not just labels, but all bag tags and medical guides to be accessible. While the Board of Pharmacy downplayed this in their rules, it did become part of the language for Maryland’s 2024 law.

• Though no law has been passed, in 2023 Missouri Board of Pharmacy granted Missouri RxCares funds to independent pharmacies to assist in getting set up with accessible prescription labels. In 2024 Colorado followed suit and incorporated an $80,000 grant from the Department of Health into their bill which passed.

• In 2023, again with no law in place, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy created a rule that all pharmacies needed to simply report what accessible services they offer and created a searchable website for consumers.  Minnesota followed suit and their new law requires pharmacies to report in the first year after passage, and then requires provision of accessible labels during the second year.

• In 2023 Virginia HB2147 directed the Board of Pharmacy to convene a work group to evaluate the provision of translated directions for use on prescriptions. The work group did not include anyone with limited English proficiency or translators.  Learning from this, the 2023 Maryland bill and 2024 Virginia accessible prescription labeling bills specified that the NFB and others with lived experience of sight loss be included in the rules drafting process.

Preview for 2025:  Missouri has already prefiled their fourth attempt HB360.  Advocates in Indiana, Alaska, Michigan, New York, Texas, Iowa, Utah, Louisiana are looking for or have secured sponsors. We’ve also got interest in Nevada and Virginia to continue to pursue translated labels for those who prefer a language other than English for critical medication information. Check back periodically for updates on legislation and rules making prescription labels safer!

Wishing You and Yours a Happy New Year!