Federal Initiatives
The bills below are currently in-progress in the United States Congress and need your U.S. Senators’ (2) and U.S. Representative’s (1) support!
Each bill’s section includes a brief description of Why it’s important, the bill’s Status, and What you can do to help get that bill passed. Next to the title of each piece of legislation you’ll find links to its status page (one for the House of Representatives’ version and one for the Senate’s version, if both exist) on the U.S. Congress’ website so that you can read up on where that bill is at in the policy-making process.
Bills in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate can have an unlimited number of co-sponsors, so we recommend that you prioritize reaching out to your legislators about bills they have yet to co-sponsor.
To find out who represents you in the U.S. Congress, visit CommonCause.org and enter the address where you’re registered to vote.
Urge your federal reps to cosponsor H.R.9096 with our petition & email templates
We’re thrilled that our U.S. Representative, Betty McCollum (D—MN—4), has signed on as a co-sponsor of the Pharmacists Fight Back Act (H.R.9096). If you’d like to petition your own federal representative to co-sponsor this critical piece of proposed legislation, use these buttons to access customizable versions of our petition and signature page, as well as a template you can use to spread the word to your family and friends.
Want to share this petition with other Americans? Please do! We need Representatives from all 50 U.S. states to support this legislation that would benefit everyone. Feel free to share this webpage or links to the individual Google Docs with others.
Templates already customized for one of the eight U.S. Representatives for Minnesota, as well as additional legislative scripts and templates, can be found on our Tools page.
Contact your
legislators!
Click the buttons below to be led to online grassroots tools that makes it easy peasy to let your legislators know that PBM reform matters to you. If you have the time, adding a personal story will make your communication even more impactful!
Stay up to date with
Congress.gov
If you’d like to stay up to date on the trajectory of these and other bills being debated in the U.S. Congress, click here to set up a free Congress.gov account.
Congress.gov allows you to track House and Senate bills by bill number and topic. When you log in, you’ll be able to set emailed “alerts” for bills of interest to you and view your saved searches.
Bills of interest
Pharmacists Fight Back Act | H.R.9096 | New!
Why it’s important
The Pharmacists Fight Back Act (PFBA) is currently the most comprehensive Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) reform legislation ever introduced at the federal level. This legislation prohibits large PBMs from manipulating drug prices and restricting network access and patient choice in federal healthcare plans. It also protects pharmacies, patients, and taxpayers from other unfair PBM practices. While the several bills listed below together focus on several facets of PBM abuse, this is currently the ONLY bill that specifically addresses reimbursements from PBMs to pharmacies like us (in the words of our friend and fellow pharmacy advocate, Deb Keaveny, “The other bills have merit; this one shines!”). For more info about H.R.9096, click here to access a one-page summary prepared by our friends at Pharmacists United for Truth & Transparency (PUTT) and here to see their “5 Reasons to Support H.R.9095” flyer.
As of December 11th, 2024, remains in the House
H.R.9096 was introduced on 7/23/24 by Representative Auchincloss (D—MA—4) alongside Rep. Diane Harshbarger (R—TN—1) was immediately referred to several committees. Most recently, it was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means’ Subcommittee on Health on 12/17/24.
It has since added the following co-sponsors and is officially bipartisan: Reps. Tlaib (D—MI—12), Krishnamoorthi (D—IL—8), Carter (R—GA—1), Patrick (D—NY—18), Gonzalez (D—TX—34), Budzinski (D—IL—13), Maloy (R—UT—2), Comer (R—KY—1), Thompson (D—MS—2), Burchett (R—TN—2), Cherfilus-McCormick (D—Fl—20), McGovern (D—MA—2), Deluzio (D—PA—17), Pressley (D—MA—7), Fleischmann (R—TN—3), Carl (R—AL—1), Norman (R—SC—5), Aderholt (R—AL—4), Kiggans (R—VA—2), Moulton (D—MA—6), Bishop (D—GA—2), Westerman (R—AR—4), Lynch (D—MA—8), Gooden (R—TX—5), Cartwright (D—PA—8), Rogers (R—KY—5), Strong (R—AL—5), Moore (R—AL—2), Nehls (R—TX—22), McGarvey (D—KY—3), Sessions (R—TX—17), Keating (D—MA—9), Graves (R—LA—6), Weber (R—TX—14), McCollum (D—MN—4), Bergman (R—MI—1), Cohen (D—TN—9), Nickel (D—NC—13), Flood (R—NE—1), Mann (R—KS—1), Foushee (D—NC—4), Davis (D—NC—1), Scott (R—GA—8), Moolenaar (R—MI—2), Escobar (D—TX—16), Khanna (D—CA—17), Lee (D—PA—12), Ciscomani (R—AZ—6), Pocan (D—WI—2), Zinke (R—MT—1), James (R—MI—10), Landsman (D—OH—1), Fulcher (R—ID—1), and Van Orden (R—WI—3). Bills in the U.S. Senate can have an unlimited number of co-sponsors, so encourage your U.S. Senators to sign on as one!
Click here to view the current status of this bill—including any additional authors that have been added since the date listed above—on the U.S. Congress’s official website.
What you can do
We and other local pharmacies across the state are pushing to reach our goal of 50 co-sponsors by Thanksgiving! Our U.S. Representative, Betty McCollum (D—MN—4) has already signed on, but remains the ONLY Minnesotan Representative to do so, and several other states remain completely unrepresented.
If you live in a different legislative district, see if an independent pharmacy in your area is hosting the petition or ask them if they will! All the materials you need are linked above.
As of November 19th, 2024, these are the only districts across the U.S. whose Representative has signed on as a co-sponsor for H.R.9096. If yours isn’t listed, please reach out to your legislator ASAP! Just 5 communications from constituents can prompt them to take a closer look at prospective legislation.
The Pharmacists Fight Back Act listed above is currently our main focus.
We are actively working with fellow pharmacy owners, legislators, lobbyists, national organizations, and other advocates to get it passed, as we firmly believe it is the bill that will be most effective at holding PBMs accountable and ensuring pharmacies like us are fairly compensated for our work.
The bills listed below have also been introduced in Congress, but we believe are not as strong or only address certain elements of the issue of PBM abuse.
Preventing Algorithmic Collusion Act of 2024 | S.3686
Why it’s important
Price fixing and other forms of collusion are illegal under U.S. law, but current legislation preventing this abusive behavior may be insufficient when competing companies delegate pricing decisions to a computer algorithm. There is mounting evidence that PBMs are utilizing this approach to increase their profits and control of our healthcare system, making this proposed legislation an important part of addressing the larger issue of PBM abuse as a whole. Click here to read an article from the website of Amy Klobuchar (D—MN), one of our state’s U.S. Senators and the primary author of this bill.
If passed, this legislation would:
• Close a loophole in current law by presuming a price-fixing “agreement,” when direct competitors share competitively sensitive information through a pricing algorithm to raise prices;
• Increase transparency by requiring companies that use algorithms to set prices to disclose that fact and give antitrust enforcers the ability to audit the pricing algorithm when there are concerns it may be harming consumers;
• Ban companies from using competitively sensitive information from their direct competitors to inform or train a pricing algorithm; and
• Direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to study pricing algorithms’ impact on competition.
As of November 8th, 2024, remains in the Senate
S.3686 was introduced on 1/30/24 by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D—MN) alongside Sens. Wyden (D—OR), Durbin (D—IL), Blumenthal (D—CT), Hirono (D—HI), and Welch (D—VT), and was immediately referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
It has since added the following co-sponsors and remains a Democratic bill: Sen. Murphy (D—CT). Bills in the U.S. Senate can have an unlimited number of co-sponsors, so encourage your U.S. Senators to sign on as one!
Click here to view the current status of this bill—including any additional authors that have been added since the date listed above—on the U.S. Congress’s official website.
What you can do
Contact your U.S. Senators! In Minnesota, this would be Sen. Tina Smith (D), who has yet to co-sponsor this bill (Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) is already the primary author).
For detailed instructions on how to contact your legislators and helpful tips and tricks, check out our How to Advocate page.
Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs, and Extenders Act of 2023 | S.3430
Why it’s important
If passed, this bill would amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to expand mental health care and substance use disorder services under Medicaid and Medicare, reduce prescription drug costs for seniors at the pharmacy counter, extend essential Medicaid and Medicare provisions that have expired, and increase Medicare payments to support physicians and other providers.
Included in the bill’s text are specific measures aimed at PBM reform. “This bipartisan legislation will cut patient costs at the pharmacy counter, strengthen provider choice for seniors across the country and reverse warped incentives that currently favor higher-priced medications,” said Senator Crapo. “It accomplishes all of this without increasing the federal deficit. Taxpayers, consumers and community pharmacies deserve to see these bills passed by the full Congress as quickly as possible.”
As of November 8th, 2024, remains in the Senate
S.3430 was introduced on 12/7/23 by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D—OR) alongside Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R—ID) after it was marked up in the committee in November. Notably, the Committee passed the Chairman’s proposal unanimously with a vote of 26-0, after which it was immediately placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar.
It has since added no additional co-sponsors but if officially bipartisan. Bills in the U.S. Senate can have an unlimited number of co-sponsors, so encourage your U.S. Senators to sign on as one!
Click here to view the current status of this bill—including any additional authors that have been added since the date listed above—on the U.S. Congress’s official website.
Modernizing and Ensuring PBM Accountability (MEPA) Act | S.2973
Why it’s important
Similar to S.3430 listed above, this bill proposes to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to establish requirements relating to PBMs under Medicare and Medicaid programs. The bill aims to ensure fair assessment of pharmacy performance and encourage transparency in the provision of pharmacy benefit management services. Its’ language comprises a package of key reforms that combines provisions of multiple Senate bills: the Drug Price Transparency in Medicaid Act of 2023 (S.1038), Protect Patient Access to Pharmacies Act (S.2052), Strengthening Pharmacy Access for Seniors Act (S.2405), and the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act of 2023 (S.127; see further down this page for details).
According to Bill Track *50*, the bill “calls for the standardization of pharmacy performance measures, stating that these should be evidence-based, feasible, and appropriate. It also emphasizes the need for transparency, requiring PBMs to provide detailed reports to the Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) sponsor and the Secretary on an annual basis. Additionally, it proposes measures to prevent the use of abusive spread pricing in Medicaid, ensure accurate payments to pharmacies, and resolve conflicts of interest on part of PBMs. Lastly, the bill proposes the establishment of beneficiary-focused listening sessions to improve prescription drug plan transparency, access, and choice, and calls for various studies and reports on related matters.”
Click here to read a one-page summary of this bill prepared by American Pharmacies, a member-owned cooperative of 750 independent pharmacies in 38 states.
As of November 8th 2024, remains in the Senate
S.2973 was introduced on 9/28/23 by Senator Wyden (D—OR) and was immediately referred to the Committee on Finance. It was passed by the Committee on 12/7/23 as amended and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar.
It has since added no additional co-sponsors and remains a Democratic bill. Bills in the U.S. Senate can have an unlimited number of co-sponsors, so encourage your U.S. Senators to sign on as one!
Click here to view the current status of this bill—including any additional authors that have been added since the date listed above—on the U.S. Congress’s official website.
Lower Costs, More Transparency Act | H.R.5378
Why it’s important
As described by the NCPA (National Community Pharmacists Association), H.R.5378 is NCPA-priority legislation that
“follows a months-long process to combine efforts of the House Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce Committees into a single legislative package. It includes the Drug Price Transparency in Medicaid Act (previously H.R.1613), which would bring greater transparency to the Medicaid program, save taxpayers more than $1 billion over 10 years, and provide fair and transparent reimbursements to pharmacies. It also prohibits spread pricing/requires a full pass-through in all Medicaid managed care programs; requires pharmacy reimbursements in all state Medicaid managed care programs be at a rate of pharmacy’s average acquisition costs and the state’s Medicaid fee-for-service dispensing fee; limits payments to pharmacy benefit managers to solely administrative fees; and creates savings for taxpayers.”
Click here to read a one-page summary of this bill prepared by American Pharmacies, a member-owned cooperative of 750 independent pharmacies in 38 states.
PASSED the House on December 11th, 2023!
H.R.5378 was introduced on 9/8/23 by Representative McMorris Rodgers (R—WA—5) alongside Reps. Pallone (D—NJ—6), Smith (R—MO—8), and Foxx (R—NC—5) and was immediately referred to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce. It passed the House on 12/11/23 with 320 Yeas and 72 Nays, but awaits a Senate bill number. A breakdown of the contribution by Representatives from our state is below:
YEAS
Angie Craig
Betty McCollum
Ilhan Omar
NAYS
Brad Finstad
Michelle Fischbach
Pete Stauber
DID NOT VOTE
Tom Emmer
Dean Phillips
Click here to view the status of this bill on the U.S. Congress’s official website.
What you can do
(1) Contact your U.S. Senators (in Minnesota, this would be Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D) and Tina Smith (D)) and tell them that we NEED them to help pass this bill in the U.S. Senate.
(2) Contact your U.S. Representative (in our neighborhood, that’s Betty McCollum (D—4)). If they voted “yea,” tell them thank you for supporting legislative reform on this issue! If they voted “nay” or didn’t vote, ask them why. This bill included a number of other provisions (including things that hospitals don’t like), so if your Representative voted against this bill, there’s a high likelihood it was due to hospital lobbying. If that’s the case, remind them that we can’t have a well-functioning healthcare system if it pins certain providers against others—both hospitals AND pharmacies provide essential health services, and leaving patients without access to community-based pharmacies is dangerous in its own way.
For detailed instructions on how to contact your legislators and helpful tips and tricks, check out our How to Advocate page.
Patients Before Middlemen (PBM) Act | S.1967
Why it’s important
The Patients Before Middlemen (PBM) Act would delink the compensation of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) from drug price and utilization in order to better align incentives that would help lower prescription drugs costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries.
More specifically, this bill would (1) prohibit PBM compensation based on the price of a drug as a condition of entering into a contract with a Medicare Part D plan (i.e., service fees will not be connected to the price of a drug, discounts, rebates, or other fees) and (2) create an enforcement mechanism requiring PBMs to pay to the Secretary any amount in excess of the designated service fees.
As stated by Chairman Wyden (D—OR), "This legislation will put a stop to one of the most egregious practices driving up the price of prescription drugs in Medicare: pharmacy benefit managers getting paid based on the price of a drug. Instead of fighting for lower prices, this practice has encouraged drug middlemen to favor higher-priced drugs in their negotiations, which means seniors are forced to pay more for their prescriptions. I'm pleased to introduce this bill on a bipartisan basis, and I look forward to working with Ranking Member Crapo and other members of the Finance Committee to include this policy in the committee's forthcoming effort to address pharmacy benefit manager practices that are driving up prices for seniors and taxpayers."
As of November 8th, 2024, remains in the Senate
S.1967 was introduced on 6/14/23 by Senator Menendez (D—NJ) alongside Sens. Blackburn (R—TN), Tester (D—MT), Marshall (R—KS), Wyden (D—OR), and Crapo (R—ID) and was immediately referred to the Committee on Finance.
It has since added the following co-sponsors and is officially bipartisan: Sens. Booker (D—NJ) and Lankford (R—OK). Bills in the U.S. Senate can have an unlimited number of co-sponsors, so encourage your U.S. Senators to sign on as one!
Click here to view the current status of this bill—including any additional authors that have been added since the date listed above—on the U.S. Congress’s official website.
What you can do
Contact your U.S. Senators! In Minnesota, this would be Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D) and Tina Smith (D), neither of whom have co-sponsored this bill.
For detailed instructions on how to contact your legislators and helpful tips and tricks, check out our How to Advocate page.
PATIENT Act of 2023 | H.R.3561
Why it’s important
The Promoting Access to Treatments and Increasingly Necessary Transparency (PATIENT) Act is a repackaging of several healthcare bills, some PBM-related (including Representative Earl “Buddy” Carter’s original Drug Price Transparency in Medicaid Act of 2023), generally with the goal of reducing healthcare costs.
As of December 26th, 2024, remains in the House
H.R.3561 was introduced on 5/22/23 by Representative McMorris Rodgers (R—WA—5) alongside Rep. Pallone (D—NJ—6) and immediately referred to several committees. It was passed 49-0 by the Committee on Energy and Commerce on 5/24/23 and was mostly recently referred to the Committee on Ways and Means’ Subcommittee on Health on 12/17/24.
It has since added the following co-sponsors and is officially bi-partisan: Reps. Carter (R—GA—1), Bilirakis (R—FL-12), Bucshon (R—IN—8), Guthrie (R—KY—2), Buchanan (R—FL—16), Balderson (R—OH—12), Joyce (R—PA—13), Allen (R—GA—12), Johnson (R—OH—6), Dunn (R—FL—2), Hudson (R—NC—9), Cammack (R—FL—3), Bice (R—OK—5), Barragan (D—CA—44), Kuster (D—NH—2), Sarbanes (D—MD—3), Craig (D—MN—2), Harshbarger (R—TN—1), Latta (R—OH—5), Obernolte (R—CA—23), Higgins (R—LA—3), Duncan (R—SC—3), LaTurner (R—KS—2), Peters (D—CA—50), Schakowsky (D—IL—9), Miller-Meeks (R—IA—1), Lesko (R—AZ—8), Crenshaw (R—TX—2), Curtis (R—UT—3), Smith (R—NJ—4), James (R—MI—10), Moore (R—AL—2), Stefanik (R—NY—21), Cherfilus-McCormick (D—FL—20), Moolenaar (R—MI—2), De La Cruz (R—TX—15), Matsui (D—CA—7), Van Duyne (R—TX—24), Fallon (R—TX—4), Babin (R—TX—36), Bergman (R—MI—1), Caraveo (D—CO—8), Mills (R—FL—7), Lee (D—NV—3), Westerman (R—AR—4), Schiff (D—CA—30), Spartz (R—IN—5), Baird (R—IN—4), Clarke (D—NY—9), Davis (D—NC—1), Armstrong (R—ND—At Large), Vasquez (D—NM—2), Gimenez (R—FL—28), Jackson (R—TX—13), Ciscomani (R—AZ—6), Blunt Rochester (D—DE—At Large), Soto (D—FL—9), Kelly (D—Il—2), Trahan (D—MA—3), Dingell (D—MI—6), Wild (D—PA—7), Thanedar (D—MI—13), Gallego (D—AZ—3), Lieu (D—CA—36), Veasey (D—TX—33), Ruiz (D—CA—25), Pettersen (D—CO—7), Cardenas (D—CA—29), Jackson Lee (D—TX—18), Fletcher (D—TX—7), Deluzio (D—PA—17), Van Drew (R—NJ—2), Santos (R—NY—3), Salinas (D—OR—6), Harder (D—CA—9), DeGette (D—CO—1), Schrier (D—WA—8), Takano (D—CA—39), Kim (D—NJ—3), Posey (R—FL—8), Stanton (D—AZ—4), Tlaib (D—MI—12), Manning (D—NC—6), Rogers (R—KY—5), McCollum (D—MN—4), Nickel (D—NC—13), and McCormick (R—GA—6). Bills in the U.S. House of Representatives can have an unlimited number of co-sponsors, so encourage your U.S. Representative to sign on as one!
Click here to view the current status of this bill—including any additional authors that have been added since the date listed above—on the U.S. Congress’s official website.
What you can do
Contact your U.S. Representative! In our neighborhood, this would be Rep. Betty McCollum (D—4),who became a co-sponsor of this bill on 9/26/23, but may differ if you reside in a different zip code.
For detailed instructions on how to contact your legislators and helpful tips and tricks, check out our How to Advocate page.
DRUG Act | S.1542
Why it’s important
If passed, the Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act would “would prohibit PBMs from making more money on high-cost drugs than they do from lower-cost drugs to even the playing field for patients,” according to Senator Tester’s website.
More specifically, this bill would “delink” the price that PBMs charge payers (insurance companies, large employers, and state and federal governments) who hire them from the list price of a drug (in other words, they would make a flat service fee as is common when providing an administrative service in most, if not all, other industries). “This is a perverse incentive that favors prescription drugs with higher list prices,” stated Senator Marshall (R—KS). We see firsthand how this leads to PBMs discriminating against generic or lower-cost medications that, because of their price, make them less money when included on insurance plans’ formulary of covered drugs: patients end up being forced to take the expensive brand name version of a drug even when a cheaper generic alternative exists, leading them with less choice and higher prescription costs.
As of November 8th, 2024, remains in the Senate
S.1542 was introduced on 5/10/23 by Senator Marshall (R—KS) alongside Sens. Tester (D—MT), Braun (R—IN), and Kaine (D—VA) and was immediately referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
It has since added the following co-sponsors and is officially bi-partisan: Sens. Capito (R—WV), Welch (D—VT), Hawley (R—MO), and Hickenlooper (D—CO). Bills in the U.S. Senate can have an unlimited number of co-sponsors, so encourage your U.S. Senators to sign on as one!
Click here to view the current status of this bill—including any additional authors that have been added since the date listed above—on the U.S. Congress’s official website.
Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform Act | S.1339
Why it’s important
If passed, this bill would establish various requirements for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) with respect to services provided to health insurance plans (who hire PBMs to operate on their behalf when interacting with pharmacies like us). According to Congress’ website, the bill as proposed would:
· Require PBMs to report annually to the plan sponsor certain information about the PBM's services, including the amount of prescription drug copayment assistance funded by drug manufacturers, a list of covered drugs billed under the plan during the reporting period, and the total net spending by the health plan on prescription drugs. PBMs would also need to provide plan sponsors with a supplementary report every six months with specified information about drugs that were dispensed under the plan by pharmacies that are wholly or partially owned by the PBM.
· Prohibit spread pricing (when a PBM charges an insurance plan (or an insurance plan charges plan participants) a price for a prescription drug that exceeds the price paid to the pharmacy for the drug)
· Require PBMs to remit to the plan sponsor all rebates, fees, alternative discounts, and other remuneration received from a drug manufacturer.
· Establish civil penalties for violations of these requirements and provide funding for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of Labor to implement the provisions of this bill.
As of November 8th 2024, remains in the Senate
S.1339 was introduced on 4/27/23 by Representative Sanders (I—VT) alongside Sens. Cassidy (R—LA), Murray (D—WA), and Marshall (R—KS) and immediately referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. It was passed by the Committee on 6/22/23 as amended and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar.
It has since added the following co-sponsors and is officially bipartisan: Rep. Braun (R—IN). Bills in the U.S. Senate can have an unlimited number of co-sponsors, so encourage your U.S. Senators to sign on as one!
Click here to view the current status of this bill—including any additional authors that have been added since the date listed above—on the U.S. Congress’s official website.
What you can do
Contact your U.S. Representative! In our neighborhood, this would be Rep. Betty McCollum (D—4), who has yet to co-sponsor this bill, but may differ if you reside in a different zip code.
For detailed instructions on how to contact your legislators and helpful tips and tricks, check out our How to Advocate page.
Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act of 2023 | S.127
Why it’s important
PBMs are third-party administrators of prescription drug programs for health plans. Hired by payers (corporate employers, government organizations, health plans, etc.) to interface with drug manufacturers and process prescription-related insurance claims, they are the “middleman” between dispensing pharmacies like us and the entities that help cover the cost of patients’ prescriptions. Through a number of ethically questionable and mysterious practices, they currently siphon magnificent amounts of money from both sides of this equation, and have left the network of independent pharmacies in our nation crumbling, as well as contributed to the rising costs of prescription drugs and difficulty patients have getting the medications they’re prescribed covered by insurance.
This bill would require PBMs to report the amount of money they obtain from “spread pricing” (when a PBM reimburses pharmacies and health plans differently for a drug) and ban this practice. It would also grant the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enhanced powers to enforce this legislation.
Of note, current Republican Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance voted in favor of the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act in a March 2023 markup in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. In that vote, Vance joined four fellow Republican senators in supporting the bill.
As of November 8th, 2024, remains in the Senate
S.127 was reintroduced (it was passed over in the prior year’s Congress) on 1/26/23 by Senator Cantwell (D—WA) alongside Sens. Grassley (R—IA), Hyde-Smith (R—MS), Braun (R—IN), Moran (R—KS), Tillis (R—NC), Tester (D—MT), and Capito (R—WV) and immediately referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. On 12/13/23, it was passed by the Committee as amended and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar.
It has since added the following co-sponsors and is officially bipartisan: Sens. Boozman (R—AR), Welch (D—VT), Marshall (R—KS), Heinrich (D—NM), Ernst (R—IA), Rounds (R—SD), and Shaheen (D—NH). Bills in the U.S. Senate can have an unlimited number of co-sponsors, so encourage your U.S. Senators to sign on as one!
Click here to view the current status of this bill—including any additional authors that have been added since the date listed above—on the U.S. Congress’s official website.
What you can do
Contact your U.S. Senators! In Minnesota, this would be Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D) and Tina Smith (D), neither of whom have co-sponsored this bill.
For detailed instructions on how to contact your legislators and helpful tips and tricks, check out our How to Advocate page.
Prescription Pricing for the People Act of 2023 | S.113
Why it’s important
PBMs operate with little to no transparency, making it very difficult (if not impossible) to understand the flow of money in the prescription drug marketplace and how PBMs determine the prices for prescription drugs. This bill would help to provide better transparency of the PBM industry by examining the effects of consolidation on pricing and other potentially abusive behavior.
Specifically, this legislation directs the FTC to issue a report within one year addressing specific concerns, which would also include policy recommendations to Congress on improving transparency, preventing anticompetitive behavior, and ensuring that consumers actually benefit from cost savings.
As of November 8th, 2024, remains in the Senate
S.113 was reintroduced (it was passed over in the prior year’s Congress) on 1/26/23 by Senator Grassley (R—IA) alongside Sens. Cantwell (D—WA), Blumenthal (D—CT), Lankford (R—OK), Blackburn (R—TN), Tuberville (R—AL), Tillis (R—NC), Capito (R—WV), and Braun (R—IN) and immediately referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. On 3/1/23, it was passed by the Committee and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar.
It has since added the following co-sponsors and is officially bipartisan: Boozman (R—AR), Welch (D—VT), Coons (D—DE), Hirono (D—HI), Feinstein (D—CA), Casey (D—PA), Sinema (I—AZ), Marshall (R—KS), Budd (R—NC), Rosen (D—NV), Shaheen (D—NH), Collins (R—ME), and Warnock (D—GA). Bills in the U.S. Senate can have an unlimited number of co-sponsors, so encourage your U.S. Senators to sign on as one!
Click here to view the current status of this bill—including any additional authors that have been added since the date listed above—on the U.S. Congress’s official website.
What you can do
Contact your U.S. Senators! In Minnesota, this would be Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D) and Tina Smith (D), neither of whom have co-sponsored this bill.
For detailed instructions on how to contact your legislators and helpful tips and tricks, check out our How to Advocate page.
Protecting Patients Against PBM Abuses Act | H.R.2880
Why it’s important
Introduced on 4/26/23 by a group of bi-partisan Representatives, this bill would address issues of PBM abuse that make high-quality healthcare inaccessible and unaffordable for patients. If passed, it would unlink PBM compensation from the cost of prescription medications, ban patient steering and spread pricing, increase transparency, and address conflicts of interest.
As of December 26th 2024, remains in the House
H.R.2880 was introduced on 4/26/23 by Representative Carter (R—GA—1) alongside Reps. Blunt Rochester (D—DE—At Large), Malliotakis (R—NY—11), and Auchincloss (D—MA—4) and immediately referred to several committees. It was passed 46-0 by the Committee on Energy and Commerce on 12/6/23 and was mostly recently referred to the Committee on Ways and Means’ Subcommittee on Health on 12/17/24.
It has since added the following co-sponsors and is officially bipartisan: Reps. Van Drew (R—NJ—2), Miller-Meeks (R—IA—1), Ross (D—NC—2), Dunn (R—FL—2), Carl (R—AL—1), Mann (R-KS-1), Ferguson (R—GA—3), Harshbarger (R—TN—1), Allen (R—GA—12), Miller (R—WV—1), Valadao (R—CA—22), Cleaver (D—MO—5), Sherrill (D—NJ—11), Barragán (D—CA—44), Scott (R—GA—8), and Cherfilus-McCormick (D—FL—20), Davis (D—NC—1), Hudson (R—NC—9), Fleischmann (R—TN—3), Cartwright (D—PA—8), and Jackson (D—IL—1), Vasquez (D—NM—2), Spanberger (D—VA—7), Salinas (D—OR—6), and McCormick (R—GA—6), Lawler (R—NY—17), Grothman (R—WI—6), Rose (R—TN—6), Caraveo (D—CO—8), Flood (R—NE—1), Levin (D—CA—49), LaLota (R—NY—1), Kiggans (R—VA—2), James (R—MI—10), Krishnamoorthi (D—IL—8), Van Orden (R—WI—3), Smucker (R—PA—11), Garcia (R—CA—27), Tenney (R—NY—24), Morelle (D—NY—25), and Nickel (D—NC—13). Bills in the U.S. House of Representatives can have an unlimited number of co-sponsors, so encourage your U.S. Representative to sign on as one!
Click here to view the current status of this bill—including any additional authors that have been added since the date listed above—on the U.S. Congress’s official website.
What you can do
Contact your U.S. Representative! In our neighborhood, this would be Rep. Betty McCollum (D—4), who has yet to co-sponsor this bill, but may differ if you reside in a different zip code.
For detailed instructions on how to contact your legislators and helpful tips and tricks, check out our How to Advocate page.