Good News

Intro 859-A, the Language Access in Pharmacies Act (LAPA), that I introduced was voted on today in the Health Committee and passed by a vote of 9-0! This means that this bill will be voted on by the full City Council on Thursday.

The bill will require city chain pharmacies to give individuals who speak limited or no English access to free language assistance, oral interpretation, and translation services when filling prescriptions.
Clearly understanding the label on a prescription bottle is a basic right, yet many pharmacies all around the city are allowing New Yorkers to take home medication with instructions they can’t understand.

The bill stipulates that the chain pharmacy must translate medical instructions into the seven languages most commonly spoken by LEP individuals in New York City, as determined biennially by the Department of City Planning based on data from the American Community Survey.

We cannot continue to allow so many New Yorkers to be put in danger every time they fill a prescription. In a city that prides itself on diversity, pharmacies should provide these needed translation services. If even a few words of a vital medical instruction are lost on a patient, the result can be tragic.

We owe it to New Yorkers to pass this bill and I urge the Council members to vote in favor of it this Thursday.