S. 348 · 115th Congress
Prescription Drug and Health Improvement Act of 2017
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 115th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
FrankenSponsor3 cosponsors · 3 D
2 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate lower prices on behalf of Medicare and Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries for covered prescription drugs that the CMS deems appropriate for negotiation based on: (1) program and per-beneficiary spending, (2) unit price increases over the preceding years, (3) initial launch…
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Feb 9, 2017
Prescription Drug and Health Improvement Act of 2017
This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate lower prices on behalf of Medicare and Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries for covered prescription drugs that the CMS deems appropriate for negotiation based on: (1) program and per-beneficiary spending, (2) unit price increases over the preceding years, (3) initial launch price, (4) availability of similarly effective alternative treatments, (5) status of the drug as a follow-on to previously approved drugs, and (6) any other criteria determined by the CMS.
If, after a one year period, negotiations with respect to a covered prescription drug prove unsuccessful, the CMS shall establish a price for the drug that is equal to the lesser of the price paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs or the price paid by the four largest federal pharmaceutical-drug purchasers.
The CMS may (but is not required to) negotiate lower prices on behalf of Medicare and MA beneficiaries for other covered prescription drugs.
The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on the CMS' negotiations.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation must test several specified models for negotiating drug and biological prices.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Prescription Drug and Health Improvement Act of 2017
Latest action (Feb 9, 2017): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Policy area: Health · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Feb 9, 2017
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.