Safe Step Act
Latest action · Apr 10, 2019 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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 10, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Safe Step Act
This bill requires 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.
A request for such an exception to the protocol must be granted if (1) the treatment is expected to be ineffective, (2) the treatment will cause or is likely to cause an adverse reaction to the individual, (3) the treatment is expected to decrease the individual's ability either to perform daily activities or occupational responsibilities or adhere to the treatment plan, (4) the individual is stable based on the prescription drugs already selected, or (5) there are other medical reasons that warrant withholding the treatment.
The bill requires a group health plan to implement and make readily available a clear process for an individual to request an exception to the protocol. Requests must 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 157
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 10, 2019 to Dec 10, 2020, with 1 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-OH | Brad R. Wenstrup | Original | Apr 10, 2019 |
| D-CA | Ami Bera | May 2, 2019 | |
| R-PA | Brian K. Fitzpatrick | May 2, 2019 | |
| D-NC | David E. Price | May 2, 2019 | |
| R-TN | David P. Roe | May 2, 2019 | |
| R-NY | Elise M. Stefanik | May 2, 2019 | |
| R-NJ | Jefferson Van Drew | May 2, 2019 | |
| R-PA | John Joyce | May 2, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Kathleen M. Rice | May 2, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Max Rose | May 2, 2019 | |
| D-PA | Michael F. Doyle | May 2, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Pete Aguilar | May 2, 2019 | |
| R-NY | Peter T. King | May 2, 2019 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | May 2, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Robin L. Kelly | May 2, 2019 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 10, 2019Introduced in House
- Apr 10, 2019Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 2546 | Safe Step Act | Related bill | Sep 25, 2019 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 10, 2019Introduced 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.