Restoring the Patient's Voice Act of 2017
Latest action · Apr 6, 2017 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
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.
- IntroducedApr 6, 2017
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Restoring the Patient's Voice Act of 2017
This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require a group health plan to establish an exception to medication step-therapy protocol in specified cases. A medication step-therapy protocol establishes a specific sequence in which prescription drugs are covered by a group health plan or a health insurance issuer.
To warrant an exception to the protocol, at least one of the following circumstances must be met: (1) the treatment is contraindicated, (2) the treatment is expected to be ineffective, (3) the treatment will cause or is likely to cause an adverse reaction to the individual, (4) the treatment is expected to decrease the individual's ability either to perform daily activities or occupational responsibilities or adhere to the treatment plan, or (5) the individual is stable based on the prescription drugs already selected.
The bill requires a group health plan to implement a clear process for an individual to request an exception to the protocol. The process shall be readily available on the website of the group health plan and must list the requirements for a request and any necessary forms and contact information.
Requests shall be granted no later than three days after receipt of the request. In certain cases where the life, health, and ability of the individual are jeopardized by the protocol, the request shall be granted no later than 24 hours after receipt of the request.
Cosponsors 88
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 6, 2017 to Oct 23, 2018; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Raul Ruiz | Original | Apr 6, 2017 |
| R-VA | Barbara Comstock | May 25, 2017 | |
| R-OH | Steve Stivers | May 25, 2017 | |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Jun 6, 2017 | |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Jun 6, 2017 | |
| R-NE | Don Bacon | Jun 13, 2017 | |
| D-NV | Jacky Rosen | Jun 13, 2017 | |
| R-MS | Gregg Harper | Jun 20, 2017 | |
| R-NY | John Katko | Jun 20, 2017 | |
| R-VA | Robert J. Wittman | Jun 20, 2017 | |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Jun 22, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Ted Lieu | Jun 22, 2017 | |
| D-OH | Joyce Beatty | Jul 14, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Zoe Lofgren | Jul 14, 2017 | |
| R-NJ | Christopher H. Smith | Jul 18, 2017 | |
| R-TN | David P. Roe | Sep 6, 2017 | |
| D-IN | Peter J. Visclosky | Sep 6, 2017 | |
| R-TN | Scott DesJarlais | Sep 6, 2017 | |
| D-NY | Sean Patrick Maloney | Sep 6, 2017 | |
| R-IN | Larry Bucshon | Sep 13, 2017 | |
| R-NY | Peter T. King | Sep 13, 2017 | |
| R-OH | Steve Chabot | Sep 13, 2017 | |
| R-FL | Neal P. Dunn | Sep 25, 2017 | |
| R-CO | Mike Coffman | Sep 26, 2017 | |
| R-KS | Roger Marshall | Sep 28, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Anna G. Eshoo | Oct 25, 2017 | |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Oct 25, 2017 | |
| D-IL | Robin L. Kelly | Oct 25, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Nov 30, 2017 | |
| R-TX | John Abney Culberson | Nov 30, 2017 | |
| D-IL | Bill Foster | Dec 5, 2017 | |
| R-IL | Darin LaHood | Dec 5, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Ami Bera | Dec 12, 2017 | |
| D-IL | Bradley Scott Schneider | Dec 12, 2017 | |
| R-NY | Elise M. Stefanik | Dec 21, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Julia Brownley | Jan 30, 2018 | |
| D-CT | Joe Courtney | Feb 8, 2018 | |
| R-IL | Peter J. Roskam | Mar 5, 2018 | |
| D-NJ | Donald M. Payne, Jr. | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-OH | Tim Ryan | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-MS | Bennie G. Thompson | Mar 13, 2018 | |
| R-NY | John J. Faso | Mar 14, 2018 | |
| D-AZ | Tom O'Halleran | Mar 14, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Doris O. Matsui | Apr 11, 2018 | |
| D-CT | Rosa L. DeLauro | Apr 11, 2018 | |
| R-MS | Steven M. Palazzo | Apr 12, 2018 | |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Apr 17, 2018 | |
| R-TN | John J. Duncan, Jr. | Apr 17, 2018 | |
| R-OH | David P. Joyce | Apr 25, 2018 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Apr 25, 2018 | |
| D-TX | Lloyd Doggett | Apr 25, 2018 | |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Apr 25, 2018 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Apr 25, 2018 | |
| R-OH | Michael R. Turner | Apr 27, 2018 | |
| R-VA | Thomas A. Garrett, Jr. | Apr 27, 2018 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | May 8, 2018 | |
| D-NJ | Bonnie Watson Coleman | May 15, 2018 | |
| D-PA | Dwight Evans | May 15, 2018 | |
| R-FL | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen | May 15, 2018 | |
| R-KS | Kevin Yoder | May 15, 2018 | |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | May 25, 2018 | |
| D-CT | Elizabeth H. Esty | May 25, 2018 | |
| R-WI | F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. | May 25, 2018 | |
| D-PA | Michael F. Doyle | May 25, 2018 | |
| R-WA | Jaime Herrera Beutler | Jun 7, 2018 | |
| R-MN | Erik Paulsen | Jun 8, 2018 | |
| D-IL | Raja Krishnamoorthi | Jun 22, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Kathleen M. Rice | Jul 12, 2018 | |
| R-IL | Adam Kinzinger | Jul 26, 2018 | |
| D-MO | Emanuel Cleaver | Jul 26, 2018 | |
| D-MA | Stephen F. Lynch | Jul 26, 2018 | |
| R-PA | Brian K. Fitzpatrick | Aug 10, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Eliot L. Engel | Aug 10, 2018 | |
| R-OH | James B. Renacci | Aug 10, 2018 | |
| D-KY | John A. Yarmuth | Aug 28, 2018 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Aug 28, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Pete Aguilar | Sep 10, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Salud O. Carbajal | Sep 25, 2018 | |
| D-HI | Colleen Hanabusa | Sep 27, 2018 | |
| R-NY | Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. | Sep 27, 2018 | |
| D-NM | Michelle Lujan Grisham | Sep 27, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | Oct 12, 2018 | |
| R-FL | Bill Posey | Oct 12, 2018 | |
| R-AR | Steve Womack | Oct 12, 2018 | |
| D-NC | David E. Price | Oct 23, 2018 | |
| R-AK | Don Young | Oct 23, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Ro Khanna | Oct 23, 2018 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Apr 6, 2017 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 6, 2017Introduced in House
- Apr 6, 2017Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 163, no. 60, April 6, 2017, page H2793.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require a group health plan (or health insurance coverage offered in connection with such a plan) to provide an exceptions process for any medication step therapy protocol, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Restoring the Patient's Voice Act of 2017
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 6, 2017Introduced 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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
