About the bill
Americans overspend by an estimated $135 million on prescriptions through their insurance, in cases when they would cost less out of pocket. Yet pharmacists are often under gag orders from telling customers about that discrepancy.
A new bill introduced in the Senate would end this practice.
Context
A “pharmacy gag clause” is a tactic under which a pharmacist may not inform customers which of the two options would cost less for a certain product: using their health insurance or paying fully out of pocket.
These clauses are usually instituted by an insurer or pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), the most famous of which include CVS Health, Express Scripts, or United Health. They’re put in for cases in which most consumers would save money by paying out of pocket — if only …
Sponsor and status
115th Congress (2017–2019)
Enacted — Signed by the President on Oct 10, 2018
This bill was enacted after being signed by the President on October 10, 2018.
25 Cosponsors (14 Democrats, 10 Republicans, 1 Independent)
Position statements
What legislators are saying
“Chairman Alexander: This Congress, HELP Committee Produced 18 Laws Including Landmark Opioid Legislation to Combat Nations Most Pressing Public Health Crisis”
—
Sen. Lamar Alexander [R-TN, 2003-2020]
(Co-sponsor)
on Dec 20, 2018
“Cassidy-Cosponsored Bills to Help Patients Save Money on Prescriptions Heads to President’s Desk”
—
Sen. Bill Cassidy [R-LA]
(Co-sponsor)
on Sep 26, 2018
“Cramer: house passes legislation addressing bioterrorism threats and access to prescription information”
—
Sen. Kevin Cramer [R-ND]
on Sep 26, 2018
More statements at ProPublica Represent...
What stakeholders are saying
History
S. 2554 (115th) was a bill in the United States Congress.
A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law.
Bills numbers restart every two years. That means there are other bills with the number S. 2554. This is the one from the 115th Congress.
This bill was introduced in the 115th Congress, which met from Jan 3, 2017 to Jan 3, 2019. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.
How to cite this information.
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“S. 2554 — 115th Congress: Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act.” www.GovTrack.us. 2018. March 21, 2023 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s2554>
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Where is this information from?
GovTrack automatically collects legislative information from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources. This page is sourced primarily from Congress.gov, the official portal of the United States Congress. Congress.gov is generally updated one day after events occur, and so legislative activity shown here may be one day behind. Data via the congress project.
