Pandemic Response and Interstate Cost Equity Act or the PRICE Act
This bill establishes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the sole buyer, vendor, owner, and distributor of certain medical equipment obtained by the federal government in the event of a national health emergency and establishes a process for the pricing and distribution of such equipment.
Specifically, in the event of such an emergency, the Department of Health and Human Services shall assess available medical equipment and FEMA shall (1) become the sole owner and distributor of medical equipment obtained by the federal government for which the prevailing market price exceeds the fair market price by more than 15%, (2) contract with all persons capable of producing such equipment to produce such equipment, and (3) establish a price for such equipment and sell or otherwise distribute the equipment to the states or to persons that request it.
The bill establishes in Congress a Joint Committee on Defense Production.