119-s527

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 527 Reported in Senate

    (RS) ]

<DOC>

 Calendar No. 42
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, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Boozman, and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
 the Judiciary

 April 10, 2025

 Reported by Mr. Grassley, without amendment

_______________________________________________________________________

 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.
 Calendar No. 42

119th CONGRESS

 1st Session

 S. 527

_______________________________________________________________________

 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.

_______________________________________________________________________

 April 10, 2025

 Reported without amendment