Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2019
Latest action · Nov 1, 2019 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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.
- IntroducedOct 31, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2019
This bill establishes several requirements for prescription drug plans under the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Specifically, the bill requires prescription drug plans to allow any pharmacy located in a health professional shortage area, a medically underserved area, or a rural area to be included as an in-network pharmacy if the plan already has other in-network pharmacies in the same area.
The bill also establishes certain standards for prescription drug plans regarding pharmacy reimbursements and related disclosures. Among other things, the bill prohibits prescription drug plans from reimbursing a pharmacy in an amount that is less than the amount the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) reimburses an affiliated pharmacy (i.e., a pharmacy that has a shared ownership interest with the PBM) for the same services.
Cosponsors 17
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Oct 31, 2019 to Oct 2, 2020; 11 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AR | Bruce Westerman | Original | Oct 31, 2019 |
| R-WA | Cathy McMorris Rodgers | Original | Oct 31, 2019 |
| D-MN | Collin C. Peterson | Original | Oct 31, 2019 |
| D-IA | Cynthia Axne | Original | Oct 31, 2019 |
| D-IA | David Loebsack | Original | Oct 31, 2019 |
| R-TN | David P. Roe | Original | Oct 31, 2019 |
| R-GA | Earl L. "Buddy" Carter | Original | Oct 31, 2019 |
| R-AR | Eric A. "Rick" Crawford | Original | Oct 31, 2019 |
| R-VA | H. Morgan Griffith | Original | Oct 31, 2019 |
| R-GA | Rick W. Allen | Original | Oct 31, 2019 |
| D-TX | Vicente Gonzalez | Original | Oct 31, 2019 |
| R-TN | Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann | Nov 14, 2019 | |
| R-AL | Bradley Byrne | Nov 22, 2019 | |
| D-MD | C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger | Nov 22, 2019 | |
| R-AR | J. French Hill | Jan 16, 2020 | |
| R-KS | Roger Marshall | Sep 1, 2020 | |
| D-IA | Abby Finkenauer | Oct 2, 2020 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Oct 31, 2019 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Nov 1, 2019 | |
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Oct 31, 2019 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 1, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Oct 31, 2019Introduced in House
- Oct 31, 2019Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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. 165, no. 173, October 31, 2019, page H8719.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2608 | Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2021 | Reintroduced Bill | Apr 16, 2021 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure equal access of Medicare beneficiaries to community pharmacies in underserved areas as network pharmacies under Medicare prescription drug coverage, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2019
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 31, 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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
