Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2015
Latest action · Sep 18, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedSep 16, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2015
This bill amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to modify provisions related to the affordability of prescription drugs under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Specifically, the bill:
- requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid to negotiate lower prices on behalf of beneficiaries for drugs covered under Medicare Part D;
- accelerates closure of the Medicare Part D coverage gap known as the "donut hole," under which beneficiaries who have reached a certain level of yearly drug costs become fully responsible for any additional drug costs up to a certain limit;
- requires drug manufacturers to issue rebates for prescription drugs dispensed to eligible low-income individuals under Medicare or Medicaid; and
- expands the application of certain prescription drug rebate requirements under Medicaid to include rebates for generic drugs.
The bill also amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to: (1) allow the importation by individuals of prescription drugs from Canada and, potentially, other countries; and (2) establish certain conditions on the award of market exclusivity with respect to drugs. Specifically, a drug manufacturer's market exclusivity shall be terminated if the manufacturer commits, or fails to report, a drug-related violation such as misbranding, illegal marketing, or fraud.
In addition, the bill amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to: (1) establish restrictions on certain anticompetitive patent settlements known as "pay-for-delay" agreements, which effectively block generic drug competition; and (2) allow the Federal Trade Commission to initiate proceedings to enforce these restrictions against any parties to such a settlement.
The bill also requires drug manufacturers to produce and share annual reports containing specified information related to domestic and foreign sales.
Cosponsors 18
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Sep 16, 2015 to Nov 14, 2016, with 3 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Sep 16, 2015 |
| D-MD | John P. Sarbanes | Original | Sep 16, 2015 |
| D-MN | Keith Ellison | Original | Sep 16, 2015 |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Sep 28, 2015 | |
| D-PA | Matt Cartwright | Oct 8, 2015 | |
| D-NY | Hakeem S. Jeffries | Nov 17, 2015 | |
| D-CA | John Garamendi | Nov 17, 2015 | |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Nov 17, 2015 | |
| D-OH | Marcy Kaptur | Nov 17, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Mark DeSaulnier | Dec 11, 2015 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Dec 11, 2015 | |
| D-NV | Dina Titus | Jan 13, 2016 | |
| D-CA | Jared Huffman | Jan 13, 2016 | |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Feb 4, 2016 | |
| D-CA | Michael M. Honda | Feb 4, 2016 | |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Apr 29, 2016 | |
| D-NY | Nita M. Lowey | Sep 26, 2016 | |
| D-NM | Michelle Lujan Grisham | Nov 14, 2016 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 18, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Sep 16, 2015Introduced in House
- Sep 16, 2015Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Related bills 7
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 31 | Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2015 | Related bill | Jan 6, 2015 |
| S 1083 | Medicare Drug Savings Act of 2015 | Related bill | Apr 23, 2015 |
| S 1364 | Medicaid Generic Drug Price Fairness Act of 2015 | Related bill | May 18, 2015 |
| HR 2005 | Medicare Drug Savings Act of 2015 | Related bill | May 13, 2015 |
| S 2023 | Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2015 | Identical bill | Sep 10, 2015 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Business records
- Canada
- Civil actions and liability
- Competition and antitrust
- Congressional oversight
- Fraud offenses and financial crimes
- Government information and archives
- Health
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care coverage and access
- Indian social and development programs
- Inflation and prices
- Intellectual property
- Manufacturing
- Medicaid
- Medicare
- Military medicine
- Minority health
- Prescription drugs
- Public contracts and procurement
- Research and development
- Retail and wholesale trades
- Trade agreements and negotiations
- Trade restrictions
- Veterans' medical care
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 16, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.