Improving Access To Affordable Prescription Drugs Act
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.
- IntroducedMar 29, 2017
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- 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.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-NH | Margaret Wood Hassan | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
| D-NM | Tom Udall | Original | Mar 29, 2017 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Finance Committee | Referred Mar 29, 2017 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 29, 2017Introduced in Senate
- Mar 29, 2017Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S2146 | Al Franken D-MN | Mar 30, 2017 |
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.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R44951 | Regulatory Exclusivity Reform in the 115th Congress Archived | Report | Sep 15, 2017 |
Related bills 10
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 252 | Medicare Drug Savings Act of 2017 | Related bill | Feb 1, 2017 |
| S 348 | Prescription Drug and Health Improvement Act of 2017 | Related bill | Feb 9, 2017 |
| S 469 | Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act | Related bill | Feb 28, 2017 |
| HR 1245 | Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act | Related bill | Mar 3, 2017 |
| S 1688 | Empowering Medicare Seniors to Negotiate Drug Prices Act of 2017 | Related bill | Aug 1, 2017 |
| HR 1776 | Improving Access To Affordable Prescription Drugs Act | Identical bill | Apr 5, 2017 |
| S 2476 | Expanding Access to Low Cost Generic Drugs Act | Related bill | Feb 28, 2018 |
| S 2478 | End Taxpayer Subsidies for Drug Ads Act | Related bill | Mar 1, 2018 |
| S 3411 | Affordable Medications Act | Related bill | Sep 5, 2018 |
| HR 6340 | Capping Prescription Costs Act of 2018 | Related bill | Jul 11, 2018 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to improve access to affordable prescription drugs.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Improving Access To Affordable Prescription Drugs Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Administrative remedies
- Business records
- Canada
- Cancer
- Civil actions and liability
- Competition and antitrust
- Congressional oversight
- Consumer affairs
- Corporate finance and management
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
- Drug therapy
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Government trust funds
- Health
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care coverage and access
- Health programs administration and funding
- Income tax deductions
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
- Inflation and prices
- Judicial review and appeals
- Licensing and registrations
- Marketing and advertising
- Medicaid
- Medical research
- Medicare
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Prescription drugs
- Public contracts and procurement
- Research and development
- Retail and wholesale trades
- Trade restrictions
- User charges and fees
- Veterans' medical care
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 29, 2017Introduced in Senate
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.
