Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act of 2025
Latest action · Apr 29, 2025 Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 38 - 7.
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 31, 2025
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act of 2025
This bill temporarily expands flexibilities under the Stark law (i.e., the Physician Self-Referral Law) for certain physicians who dispense covered outpatient drugs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit at the physician's office location (e.g., through an integrated pharmacy). The Stark law generally prohibits physicians from referring patients to receive services that are payable under Medicare or Medicaid from entities in which the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship.
Specifically, the bill allows, from 2026-2030, physicians to dispense such drugs from the physician's office, including through in-person pickup by a caregiver or via mail, if (1) the physician prescribed the drug, (2) the beneficiary has an ongoing relationship with the physician, (3) the beneficiary had at least one face-to-face visit with the physician in the prior year, and (4) the physician bills for the drug. These requirements also apply to physicians within the same group practice.
The Government Accountability Office must report on pharmacies or pharmacy networks that dispense significantly more covered drugs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit after the bill's enactment, the extent to which such pharmacies and networks are owned by physicians or integrated into physician practices, and the common characteristics of these types of arrangements.
Cosponsors 26
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 31, 2025 to Jun 8, 2026; 5 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-WV | Carol D. Miller | Original | Mar 31, 2025 |
| R-TX | Dan Crenshaw | Original | Mar 31, 2025 |
| D-FL | Darren Soto | Original | Mar 31, 2025 |
| D-FL | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Original | Mar 31, 2025 |
| D-NC | Donald G. Davis | Original | Mar 31, 2025 |
| D-NJ | Josh Gottheimer | May 19, 2025 | |
| D-IL | Raja Krishnamoorthi | Jun 3, 2025 | |
| R-SC | Joe Wilson | Jun 11, 2025 | |
| R-FL | W. Gregory Steube | Jun 30, 2025 | |
| R-IA | Mariannette Miller-Meeks | Aug 29, 2025 | |
| R-TX | Nathaniel Moran | Sep 23, 2025 | |
| R-NY | Nicole Malliotakis | Sep 23, 2025 | |
| R-KS | Ron Estes | Oct 31, 2025 | |
| R-OH | Troy Balderson | Oct 31, 2025 | |
| D-ME | Jared F. Golden | Nov 4, 2025 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Nov 7, 2025 | |
| R-FL | Aaron Bean | Nov 17, 2025 | |
| R-OH | Michael A. Rulli | Nov 17, 2025 | |
| R-FL | Gus M. Bilirakis | Nov 18, 2025 | |
| D-NY | Josh Riley | Dec 3, 2025 | |
| R-TN | Tim Burchett | Dec 3, 2025 | |
| D-AL | Terri A. Sewell | Dec 9, 2025 | |
| R-PA | Mike Kelly | Feb 5, 2026 | |
| R-NC | Richard Hudson | Mar 16, 2026 | |
| D-MD | Sarah Elfreth | May 14, 2026 | |
| R-VA | Jennifer A. Kiggans | Jun 8, 2026 |
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 Mar 31, 2025Markup Apr 29, 2025 |
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Mar 31, 2025 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 29, 2025Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Apr 29, 2025Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 38 - 7.
- Mar 31, 2025Introduced in House
- Mar 31, 2025Referred 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. 171, no. 57, March 31, 2025, page H1375.
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 establish an exception to the physician self-referral prohibition for certain outpatient prescription drugs furnished by a physician practice under the Medicare program.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act of 2025
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 31, 2025Introduced 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.
