Prescription Pricing for the People Act of 2019

I 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 appro- priate 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 fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com- merce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation 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 recommenda- tions, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prescription Pricing 4 for the People Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:29 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2376 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 3 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 4 gress’’ means— 5 (A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 6 Senate; and 7 (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 8 House of Representatives. 9 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 10 means the Federal Trade Commission. 11 SEC. 3. STUDY OF PHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY CHAIN 12 INTERMEDIARIES AND MERGER ACTIVITY. 13 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 15 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 16 that— 17 (1) addresses at minimum— 18 (A) whether pharmacy benefit managers— 19 (i) charge payers a higher price than 20 the reimbursement rate at which the phar- 21 macy benefit managers reimburse com- 22 peting pharmacies; 23 (ii) steer patients for anticompetitive 24 purposes to any pharmacies, including re- 25 tail, mail-order, or any other type of phar- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:29 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2376 IH macy, in which the PBM has an ownership 1 interest; 2 (iii) audit or review proprietary data, 3 including acquisition costs, patient infor- 4 mation, or dispensing information, of com- 5 peting pharmacies that can be used for 6 anticompetitive purposes; or 7 (iv) use formulary designs to increase 8 the market share of higher cost prescrip- 9 tion drugs and depress the market share of 10 lower cost prescription drugs (each net of 11 rebates and discounts); 12 (B) whether there are any specific legal or 13 regulatory obstacles the Commission currently 14 faces in ensuring a competitive and transparent 15 marketplace in the pharmaceutical supply 16 chain, including the pharmacy benefit manager 17 marketplace and pharmacy services administra- 18 tive organizations; 19 (C) how companies and payers assess the 20 benefits, costs, and risks of contracting with 21 intermediaries, including pharmacy services ad- 22 ministrative organizations, and whether more 23 information about the roles of intermediaries 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:29 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2376 IH should be available to consumers and payers; 1 and 2 (D) whether there are any specific legal or 3 regulatory obstacles the Commission currently 4 faces in ensuring a competitive and transparent 5 marketplace in the pharmaceutical supply 6 chain, including the pharmacy benefit manager 7 marketplace and pharmacy services administra- 8 tive organizations; and 9 (2) provides— 10 (A) observations or conclusions drawn 11 from the November 2017 roundtable entitled 12 ‘‘Understanding Competition in Prescription 13 Drug Markets: Entry and Supply Chain Dy- 14 namics’’, and any similar efforts; 15 (B) specific actions the Commission in- 16 tends to take as a result of the November 2017 17 roundtable, and any similar efforts, including a 18 detailed description of relevant forthcoming ac- 19 tions, additional research or roundtable discus- 20 sions, consumer education efforts, or enforce- 21 ment actions; and 22 (C) policy or legislative recommendations 23 to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:29 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2376 IH (i) improve transparency and competi- 1 tion in the pharmaceutical supply chain; 2 (ii) prevent and deter anticompetitive 3 behavior in the pharmaceutical supply 4 chain; and 5 (iii) best ensure that consumers ben- 6 efit from any cost savings or efficiencies 7 that may result from mergers and consoli- 8 dations. 9 (b) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 10 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 11 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 12 an interim report on the progress of the report required 13 by subsection (a), along with preliminary findings and 14 conclusions based on information collected to that date. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:29 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS