A bill that would make it legal for Iowa pharmacists to make over-the-counter sales of two prescription medications some people sought during the pandemic has cleared a House subcommittee, but a key lawmaker says changes must be made in the bill.
Ivermectin is a prescription drug the FDA has approved as treatment of parasites like worms and head lice. Hydroxychloroquine is prescribed for malaria and lupus. Organizations representing doctors, nurses, and pharmacists oppose the bill. Iowa Pharmacy Association president Wes Pilkington owns a pharmacy in Evansdale and he told lawmakers the bill would force pharmacists to dispense the drugs, even when there are concerns. “Pharmacists are not vending machines,” he said. “We’re licensed health care professionals whose role is to ensure medications are safe and appropriate before they reach the patient.”
Seth Brown is a lobbyist for the Iowa Medical Society, as well as associations that represent Iowa pediatricians and specialists who treat patients with arthritis. “There are significant adverse impacts to these medications, particularly hydroxychloroquine,” he said. “There needs to be clinical oversight and regular check-ins to make sure it’s that being used properly.” Brown said the drugs can cause serious heart and liver issues.
Lindsay Maher of Informed Choice Iowa said “billions of doses” of ivermectin have been given worldwide and other states have passed laws allowing it to be sold without a prescription. “Federal regulators have unfortunately played gatekeeper in keeping this off-patent, generic drug away from people,” Maher said. “…Requiring doctor’s visits adds unnecessary burdens and delays treatments and increases costs…Many people in rural, underserved communities would have greater access if this was something they could purchase over the counter.”
Two of the three subcommittee members expressed grave concerns about the bill. Representative Austin Baeth, a Democrat from Des Moines, is a doctor of internal medicine. “This bill is mandated medical malpractice,” Baeth said. “Every single randomized controlled trial showed hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin are both ineffective with COVID.”
Representative Brett Barker, a Republican from Nevada, is a pharmacist. “I have some strong concerns about the bill as written as well. To me, it really hones in on two words: shall dispense,” Barker said. “Pharmacists have a corresponding responsibility to ensure the safety and appropriateness of every prescription that they provide to a patient.”
Barker later told Radio Iowa he does not support the bill as written, however, Barker said he’s “willing to have a conversation about proposed changes to the bill” if it’s debated in the House Health and Human Services Committee.
Governor Reynolds has proposed a bill that would allow over the counter sales of ivermectin, but her bill did not include hydroxychloroquine.
