[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 527 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 527
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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 11, 2025
Mr. Grassley (for himself, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Welch, Mr.
Tuberville, Mr. Coons, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Capito, Ms.
Hirono, and Mr. Lankford) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
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 2025''.
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) 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 pharmacies owned by
the pharmacy benefit manager and pharmacies not
owned by the pharmacy benefit manager;
(ii) steer patients for competitive
advantage to any pharmacy, including a retail,
mail-order, or any other type of pharmacy, in
which the pharmacy benefit managers have an
ownership interest;
(iii) audit or review proprietary data,
including acquisition costs, patient
information, or dispensing information, of
pharmacies not owned by the pharmacy benefit
manager and use such proprietary data to
increase revenue or market share for
competitive advantage; or
(iv) use formulary designs to increase the
market share of higher cost prescription drugs
or depress the market share of lower cost
prescription drugs (each net of rebates and
discounts);
(B) trends or observations on the state of
competition in the healthcare supply chain,
particularly with regard to intermediaries and their
integration with other intermediaries, suppliers, or
payers of prescription drug benefits;
(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;
(D) whether there are any specific legal or
regulatory obstacles the Commission currently faces in
enforcing the antitrust and consumer protection laws in
the pharmaceutical supply chain, including the pharmacy
benefit manager marketplace and pharmacy services
administrative organizations; and
(E) whether there are any specific legal or
regulatory obstacles that contribute to the cost of
prescription drug prices; 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.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
The Commission shall submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report that includes--
(1) the number and nature of complaints received by the
Commission relating to an allegation of anticompetitive conduct
by a manufacturer of a sole-source drug;
(2) the ability of the Commission to bring an enforcement
action against a manufacturer of a sole-source drug; and
(3) policy or legislative recommendations to strengthen
enforcement actions relating to anticompetitive behavior.
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