[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5979 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5979

To prevent abusive practices by pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs).


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 28, 2006

 Mr. Boozman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prevent abusive practices by pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs).

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pharmaceutical Benefit Manager Abuse 
Prevention Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. PREVENTING ABUSIVE PRACTICES BY PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFIT 
              MANAGERS.

    (a) In General.--A pharmaceutical benefit manager shall not engage 
in any of the following practices:
            (1) Prohibiting self-referrals.--The manager shall not 
        refer a patient to a pharmacy or other dispenser of 
        pharmaceuticals that is owned or affiliated with the manager.
            (2) Informed consent in switching authorization.--The 
        manager shall not change the authorization for a patient of a 
        drug to another drug without the patient's express consent and 
        without informing the patient of the financial consequences of 
        effecting (or not effecting) such change.
    (b) Requiring Transparency.--Each pharmaceutical benefit manager 
shall publicly disclose, in a manner specified by the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, any kickbacks or other financial incentives 
or relationship that exist between the manager and any pharmaceutical 
manufacturer (or agent or such a manufacturer).
    (c) Enforcement.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services may 
issue such civil penalties for a violation of subsection (a), or a 
failure to meet the requirement of subsection (b), as the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services determines necessary.
    (d) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the first 
day of the first month beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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