[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2376 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2376
To require the Federal Trade Commission to study the role of
intermediaries in the pharmaceutical supply chain and provide Congress
with appropriate policy recommendations, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 29, 2019
Mr. Collins of Georgia (for himself and Mr. Nadler) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Federal Trade Commission to study the role of
intermediaries in the pharmaceutical supply chain and provide Congress
with appropriate policy recommendations, and for other purposes.
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 ``Prescription Pricing for the People
Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
and
(B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
SEC. 3. STUDY OF PHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY CHAIN INTERMEDIARIES AND MERGER
ACTIVITY.
(a) Initial Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a report that--
(1) addresses at minimum--
(A) whether pharmacy benefit managers--
(i) charge payers a higher price than the
reimbursement rate at which the pharmacy
benefit managers reimburse competing
pharmacies;
(ii) steer patients for anticompetitive
purposes to any pharmacies, including retail,
mail-order, or any other type of pharmacy, in
which the PBM has an ownership interest;
(iii) audit or review proprietary data,
including acquisition costs, patient
information, or dispensing information, of
competing pharmacies that can be used for
anticompetitive purposes; or
(iv) use formulary designs to increase the
market share of higher cost prescription drugs
and depress the market share of lower cost
prescription drugs (each net of rebates and
discounts);
(B) whether there are any specific legal or
regulatory obstacles the Commission currently faces in
ensuring a competitive and transparent marketplace in
the pharmaceutical supply chain, including the pharmacy
benefit manager marketplace and pharmacy services
administrative organizations;
(C) how companies and payers assess the benefits,
costs, and risks of contracting with intermediaries,
including pharmacy services administrative
organizations, and whether more information about the
roles of intermediaries should be available to
consumers and payers; and
(D) whether there are any specific legal or
regulatory obstacles the Commission currently faces in
ensuring a competitive and transparent marketplace in
the pharmaceutical supply chain, including the pharmacy
benefit manager marketplace and pharmacy services
administrative organizations; and
(2) provides--
(A) observations or conclusions drawn from the
November 2017 roundtable entitled ``Understanding
Competition in Prescription Drug Markets: Entry and
Supply Chain Dynamics'', and any similar efforts;
(B) specific actions the Commission intends to take
as a result of the November 2017 roundtable, and any
similar efforts, including a detailed description of
relevant forthcoming actions, additional research or
roundtable discussions, consumer education efforts, or
enforcement actions; and
(C) policy or legislative recommendations to--
(i) improve transparency and competition in
the pharmaceutical supply chain;
(ii) prevent and deter anticompetitive
behavior in the pharmaceutical supply chain;
and
(iii) best ensure that consumers benefit
from any cost savings or efficiencies that may
result from mergers and consolidations.
(b) Interim Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress an interim report on the progress of the report
required by subsection (a), along with preliminary findings and
conclusions based on information collected to that date.
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