Governor Scott signs H. 588 into law, expanding pharmacist test-and-treat authority for Vermont patients

ARLINGTON, Va. — Governor Phil Scott signed H.588 into law yesterday, giving pharmacists and pharmacy technicians the authority to test for and treat a set of common illnesses — such as strep throat and the flu. The signing of this legislation marks a definitive step toward increased patient access in Vermont, particularly in the rural communities where getting timely care can be a challenge.

H.588 gives pharmacists and trained pharmacy technicians clear authority to assess a patient, perform the appropriate test, and provide treatment on the spot for a defined set of common conditions. It expands what pharmacists are empowered to do for their patients and puts these everyday services within reach at locations Vermonters already know and trust.

Throughout the legislative process, NACDS was proud to partner with the Vermont Department of Health and Office of Professional Regulation, as well as the Vermont Association of Chain Drug Stores (VACDS), to advocate for the bill's passage. Together with the bill sponsors, these collaborations helped advance meaningful reforms that will protect patients and pharmacies.

Americans visit their pharmacy nearly ten times more often than they visit a primary care provider, and nearly three in five say they would seek non-emergency care at a pharmacy before any other healthcare setting. At the same time, more than one in four Vermonters now lives in a pharmacy desert — an area with limited access to a pharmacy — making the pharmacies that remain in these communities even more essential as healthcare access points.

With H. 588 now law, Vermont has a real opportunity to deliver more convenient access to care in the communities that need it most. The state has received $195 million in year one of a five-year Rural Health Transformation Program, with expanding pharmacy test-and-treat capacity as part of the strategy. The Department of Vermont Health Access has already issued a pharmacy test-to-treat funding opportunity designed to support the equipment, training, technology integration, and protocols needed to deliver these services at scale. Directing those dollars toward test-and-treat expansion will help patients get answers sooner and begin treatment faster, strengthening pharmacies as community-based partners in a more coordinated rural healthcare system.

"The signing of H.588 is an important win for patients and pharmacies across Vermont, especially in rural communities experiencing barriers in access to timely care,” said NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, FASAE, CAE, IOM. "By empowering pharmacists to test for and treat common conditions in a single visit, Vermont is meeting patients where they already are — in the trusted, accessible settings at the heart of their communities. We commend Governor Scott and the Legislature for this patient-centered step, and we urge the state to seize this moment by directing its Rural Health Transformation Program dollars toward expanding test-and-treat authority. Pairing this new authority with real investment in the equipment, training, and infrastructure pharmacies need is how Vermont turns good policy into reliable, sustainable access to care for the communities that depend on it."