S 771 · 115th Congress 2017–2019, ended

Improving Access To Affordable Prescription Drugs Act

Fact sheet

Latest action · Mar 29, 2017 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

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.

  1. IntroducedMar 29, 2017
  2. Passed SenateNot reached
  3. Passed HouseNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

This bill amends provisions of various laws relating to prescription-drug pricing and affordability. Specifically, the bill:

  • expands reporting requirements for drug manufacturers and establishes corresponding civil penalties for noncompliance;
  • adds reporting requirements for certain nonprofit patient-assistance programs;
  • requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to Congress on the impact of patient-assistance programs on prescription-drug pricing and expenditures;
  • requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate prices for certain prescription drugs under the Medicare program;
  • requires the GAO to report to Congress on such negotiations conducted by the CMS;
  • requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation within the CMS to test specified models for negotiating drug prices;
  • establishes reporting requirements, and corresponding civil penalties for noncompliance, for pharmaceutical companies with respect to spikes in prescription-drug prices;
  • establishes an excise tax on prescription drugs subject to price spikes;
  • lessens prescription-drug cost-sharing requirements under qualified health plans, group health plans, and the Medicare program;
  • modifies provisions related to the importation of prescription drugs;
  • requires drug manufacturers to provide drug rebates for drugs dispensed to certain low-income individuals under the Medicare program;
  • establishes a prize fund for new and more effective treatments of bacterial infections;
  • establishes a Center for Clinical Research within the National Institutes of Health;
  • modifies provisions related to drug exclusivity;
  • allows the Federal Trade Commission to initiate enforcement proceedings against parties to an agreement resolving or settling a patent-infringement claim in connection with the sale of a drug product;
  • requires the Food and Drug Administration to establish a database of generic drugs; and
  • modifies other provisions related to generic drugs, prescription-drug advertising, and product hopping.

Cosponsors 15

Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Mar 29, 2017.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-MNAmy KlobucharOriginalMar 29, 2017
I-VTBernard SandersOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-MDChris Van HollenOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-NJCory A. BookerOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-MAElizabeth WarrenOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-RIJack ReedOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-ORJeff MerkleyOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-NYKirsten E. GillibrandOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-NHMargaret Wood HassanOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-CTRichard BlumenthalOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-ILRichard J. DurbinOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-RISheldon WhitehouseOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-OHSherrod BrownOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-WITammy BaldwinOriginalMar 29, 2017
D-NMTom UdallOriginalMar 29, 2017

Actions 2

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Mar 29, 2017Introduced in Senate
  2. Mar 29, 2017Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Related bills 10

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Mar 29, 2017Introduced in Senate

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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.