HR 2279 · 116th Congress 2019–2021, ended

Safe Step Act

Introduced Apr 10, 2019 Originated House Sponsor Raul Ruiz D-CA

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; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from 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
D-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
D-MA	Seth Moulton		May 2, 2019
R-OH	Steve Chabot		May 2, 2019
D-TN	Steve Cohen		May 2, 2019
D-IA	Abby Finkenauer		May 16, 2019
D-CA	Adam B. Schiff		May 16, 2019
R-IL	Adam Kinzinger		May 16, 2019
D-MI	Andy Levin		May 16, 2019
D-NJ	Bonnie Watson Coleman		May 16, 2019
D-MD	C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger		May 16, 2019
D-ME	Chellie Pingree		May 16, 2019
D-FL	Darren Soto		May 16, 2019
R-AK	Don Young		May 16, 2019
D-CA	Harley Rouda		May 16, 2019
R-WA	Jaime Herrera Beutler		May 16, 2019
D-MD	Jamie Raskin		May 16, 2019
D-CA	Julia Brownley		May 16, 2019
D-CA	Mark Takano		May 16, 2019
R-OH	Michael R. Turner		May 16, 2019
D-IN	Peter J. Visclosky		May 16, 2019
D-IL	Raja Krishnamoorthi		May 16, 2019
R-AR	Steve Womack		May 16, 2019
D-PA	Susan Wild		May 16, 2019
D-WA	Suzan K. DelBene		May 16, 2019
D-HI	Tulsi Gabbard		May 16, 2019
D-MO	Wm. Lacy Clay		May 16, 2019
D-CA	Alan S. Lowenthal		May 28, 2019
D-NH	Ann M. Kuster		May 28, 2019
R-OH	Bob Gibbs		May 28, 2019
D-CA	Brad Sherman		May 28, 2019
D-HI	Ed Case		May 28, 2019
D-DC	Eleanor Holmes Norton		May 28, 2019
D-GA	Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.		May 28, 2019
D-KY	John A. Yarmuth		May 28, 2019
R-NY	John Katko		May 28, 2019
D-OK	Kendra S. Horn		May 28, 2019
R-FL	Neal P. Dunn		May 28, 2019
R-VA	Robert J. Wittman		May 28, 2019
R-KS	Roger Marshall		May 28, 2019
D-NY	Sean Patrick Maloney		May 28, 2019
R-OH	Steve Stivers		May 28, 2019
D-CA	Ted Lieu		May 28, 2019
D-AZ	Ann Kirkpatrick		Jun 14, 2019
R-MO	Ann Wagner		Jun 14, 2019
D-NY	Antonio Delgado		Jun 14, 2019
D-PA	Brendan F. Boyle		Jun 14, 2019
D-PA	Conor Lamb		Jun 14, 2019
D-CO	Ed Perlmutter		Jun 14, 2019
R-WI	F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.		Jun 14, 2019
D-NJ	Josh Gottheimer		Jun 14, 2019
D-PA	Mary Gay Scanlon		Jun 14, 2019
D-OR	Peter A. DeFazio		Jun 14, 2019
D-MA	Stephen F. Lynch		Jun 14, 2019
D-NY	Yvette D. Clarke		Jun 14, 2019
D-CA	Zoe Lofgren		Jun 14, 2019
D-MA	James P. McGovern		Jun 21, 2019
D-WA	Kim Schrier		Jun 21, 2019
R-FL	Ross Spano		Jun 21, 2019
R-OH	Anthony Gonzalez		Jul 9, 2019
D-WA	Derek Kilmer		Jul 9, 2019
R-MS	Steven M. Palazzo		Jul 9, 2019
D-CA	Tj Cox		Jul 9, 2019
D-CO	Jason Crow		Jul 12, 2019
R-MD	Andy Harris		Jul 23, 2019
R-FL	Bill Posey		Jul 23, 2019
R-NC	Ted Budd		Jul 25, 2019
D-NJ	Andy Kim		Aug 9, 2019
R-TX	Kenny Marchant		Aug 9, 2019
R-OH	David P. Joyce		Aug 16, 2019
D-NY	Carolyn B. Maloney		Sep 11, 2019
R-UT	Chris Stewart		Sep 11, 2019
D-KS	Sharice Davids		Sep 11, 2019
R-FL	John H. Rutherford		Sep 12, 2019
D-NY	Nydia M. Velázquez		Sep 12, 2019
D-IA	David Loebsack		Sep 20, 2019
R-NY	Lee M. Zeldin		Sep 20, 2019
D-WI	Mark Pocan		Sep 20, 2019
D-TX	Vicente Gonzalez		Sep 20, 2019
D-MA	William R. Keating		Sep 20, 2019
D-FL	Al Lawson, Jr.		Sep 27, 2019
R-GA	Austin Scott		Sep 27, 2019
D-NJ	Donald M. Payne, Jr.		Sep 27, 2019
D-NY	Grace Meng		Sep 27, 2019
R-GA	Jody B. Hice		Sep 27, 2019
D-TX	Lizzie Fletcher		Sep 27, 2019
D-MN	Betty McCollum		Oct 16, 2019
D-CA	Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr.		Oct 16, 2019
D-VA	Abigail Davis Spanberger		Oct 23, 2019
R-PA	Lloyd Smucker		Oct 23, 2019
D-WI	Ron Kind		Oct 23, 2019
D-AL	Terri A. Sewell		Oct 23, 2019
D-IL	Bobby L. Rush		Oct 31, 2019
R-WI	Glenn Grothman		Oct 31, 2019
R-PR	Jenniffer González-Colón		Oct 31, 2019
D-CO	Joe Neguse		Oct 31, 2019
D-MA	Joseph P. Kennedy III		Oct 31, 2019
D-MD	David J. Trone		Nov 22, 2019
D-GA	David Scott		Nov 22, 2019
R-PA	Glenn Thompson		Nov 22, 2019
D-OH	Joyce Beatty		Nov 22, 2019
D-GA	Lucy McBath		Nov 22, 2019
R-NV	Mark E. Amodei		Nov 22, 2019
D-MI	Haley M. Stevens		Dec 6, 2019
R-KY	James Comer		Dec 6, 2019
R-AZ	Paul A. Gosar		Dec 6, 2019
R-OH	Robert E. Latta		Dec 6, 2019
D-AZ	Greg Stanton		Dec 18, 2019
R-NC	Gregory F. Murphy		Dec 18, 2019
D-CT	Joe Courtney		Dec 18, 2019
D-AZ	Ruben Gallego		Dec 18, 2019
R-TN	Mark E. Green		Jan 10, 2020
D-NH	Chris Pappas		Feb 7, 2020
R-FL	Michael Waltz		Feb 7, 2020
R-NC	Patrick T. McHenry		Feb 7, 2020
D-NM	Xochitl Torres Small		Feb 7, 2020
D-PA	Chrissy Houlahan		Feb 27, 2020
R-IL	Darin LaHood		Feb 27, 2020
D-CO	Diana DeGette		Feb 27, 2020
D-NJ	Mikie Sherrill		Feb 27, 2020
R-GA	Rick W. Allen		Feb 27, 2020
R-MO	Billy Long		Mar 13, 2020
D-DE	Lisa Blunt Rochester		Mar 13, 2020
D-CA	Nanette Diaz Barragán		Mar 13, 2020
D-NJ	Albio Sires		Jul 1, 2020
D-FL	Alcee L. Hastings		Jul 1, 2020
D-FL	Donna E. Shalala		Jul 1, 2020
D-MO	Emanuel Cleaver		Jul 1, 2020
D-NY	Jerrold Nadler		Jul 1, 2020
D-CA	Josh Harder		Jul 1, 2020
D-PA	Madeleine Dean		Jul 1, 2020
R-OK	Tom Cole		Jul 1, 2020
D-NJ	Tom Malinowski		Jul 1, 2020
R-WV	David B. McKinley		Sep 17, 2020
D-CA	John Garamendi		Sep 17, 2020
R-MS	Michael Guest		Sep 17, 2020
D-NY	Paul Tonko		Sep 17, 2020
D-TX	Al Green		Dec 10, 2020
D-TX	Colin Z. Allred		Dec 10, 2020
D-PA	Dwight Evans		Dec 10, 2020
D-CT	James A. Himes		Dec 10, 2020
D-CT	John B. Larson		Dec 10, 2020
D-FL	Stephanie N. Murphy		Dec 10, 2020
R-FL	W. Gregory Steube		Dec 10, 2020

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 10, 2019

Actions 2

Everything that happened, newest first.

Apr 10, 2019Introduced in House
Apr 10, 2019Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

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

[Pages H8720-H8721] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] By Ms. WEXTON: H.R. 4971. Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article 1, Section 8, clause 7 By Miss. RICE of New York: H.R. 4972. Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article I, Section 8 ADDITIONAL SPONSORS Under clause 7 of rule XII, sponsors were added to public bills and resolutions, as follows: H.R. 3: Ms. Judy Chu of California, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Perlmutter, and Ms. Davids of Kansas. H.R. 35: Mr. Neguse. H.R. 40: Ms. DeGette. H.R. 180: Mr. Thompson of Mississippi. H.R. 230: Mr. Lewis. H.R. 566: Mr. Suozzi. H.R. 838: Mr. Meeks and Mr. Rogers of Kentucky. H.R. 849: Mr. Langevin and Mr. Casten of Illinois. H.R. 935: Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania and Mr. Rogers of Kentucky. H.R. 1043: Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Johnson of Ohio. H.R. 1049: Mr. Lynch. H.R. 1092: Mr. Raskin. H.R. 1110: Mr. Wright. H.R. 1133: Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. H.R. 1155: Mr. Pence. H.R. 1171: Mr. Meeks. H.R. 1175: Mr. Richmond. H.R. 1188: Mr. Doggett. H.R. 1254: Ms. Wexton. H.R. 1257: Mr. Rutherford. H.R. 1289: Ms. Matsui. H.R. 1309: Mr. Richmond and Mr. Bishop of Georgia. H.R. 1367: Mr. Johnson of Georgia and Mr. Levin of Michigan. H.R. 1383: Mr. Olson. H.R. 1418: Mr. Schrader. H.R. 1468: Mr. Grijalva. H.R. 1498: Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Perlmutter, Ms. Scanlon, Ms. Dean, and Mr. Grijalva. H.R. 1528: Mr. Trone. H.R. 1652: Mr. Schrader, Mrs. Axne, Mr. Correa, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Evans, and Ms. Velazquez. H.R. 1673: Mr. Harris. H.R. 1680: Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Womack, Mr. Ferguson, and Mr. Byrne. H.R. 1705: Mrs. Lawrence. H.R. 1748: Mr. Sherman, Mr. Crow, Mr. Visclosky, Mr. Stauber, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. Torres Small of New Mexico, and Mr. Keating. H.R. 1754: Mr. Lynch, Mrs. Luria, Mr. Kind, Ms. Bass, and Mr. Larson of Connecticut. H.R. 1765: Mr. McKinley. H.R. 1777: Ms. Meng. H.R. 1923: Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Welch, Mr. Lowenthal, and Ms. Garcia of Texas. H.R. 2051: Mr. Suozzi. H.R. 2075: Ms. Mucarsel-Powell. H.R. 2086: Mrs. Luria. H.R. 2117: Mr. Joyce of Ohio. H.R. 2147: Mr. Kildee, Ms. Moore, Mrs. Luria, Mr. Gottheimer, and Mr. Calvert. H.R. 2210: Mr. Soto. H.R. 2222: Mr. Smith of Nebraska. H.R. 2235: Mr. Crawford, Mr. Payne, Ms. Norton, Mr. Lynch, and Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania. H.R. 2279: Miss Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto Rico, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Rush, Mr. Neguse, and Mr. Kennedy. H.R. 2283: Mr. Lewis. H.R. 2301: Mr. Bacon. H.R. 2411: Ms. Spanberger and Mr. Comer. H.R. 2433: Mr. Sires. H.R. 2498: Ms. Sewell of Alabama. H.R. 2501: Mr. Soto. H.R. 2521: Mr. Soto, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Bucshon, Ms. Norton, and Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois. H.R. 2584: Mr. Olson and Mr. Hice of Georgia. H.R. 2645: Ms. Jackson Lee. H.R. 2653: Mrs. Axne. H.R. 2656: Ms. Slotkin. H.R. 2668: Mr. Young and Ms. Finkenauer. H.R. 2693: Mr. Smith of Nebraska, Mr. Holding, Mr. Smith of Missouri, and Mr. Arrington. H.R. 2746: Miss Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto Rico. H.R. 2747: Ms. Speier and Mr. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania. H.R. 2788: Mr. Amodei. H.R. 2802: Ms. Finkenauer and Ms. Schakowsky. H.R. 2825: Mrs. Walorski. H.R. 2862: Mr. Balderson. H.R. 2867: Ms. Brownley of California. H.R. 2985: Mr. Nunes and Mr. Rouda. H.R. 2986: Mr. Lewis and Mr. Blumenauer. H.R. 2990: Mr. Hice of Georgia, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Norman, Ms. Stevens, and Mr. Davidson of Ohio. H.R. 3048: Mr. Smith of Missouri. H.R. 3062: Mr. Johnson of Ohio. H.R. 3080: Mr. Brindisi and Ms. Waters. H.R. 3127: Mr. Welch and Mr. Smith of Nebraska. H.R. 3138: Mr. Norcross. H.R. 3155: Mr. Gaetz, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Waltz, Mr. Hollingsworth, Mr. Perry, Mr. Collins of Georgia, Mr. Hurd of Texas, Mrs. Roby, Mr. Stauber, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Katko, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Reed, Mr. Pence, Mr[...]

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 173, October 31, 2019.

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

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 Title(s) as Introduced: Safe Step Act

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

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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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.