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A bipartisan coalition reintroduced the Patients Before Monopolies Act in the 119th Congress after prior House and Senate versions introduced late in the 118th Congress were referred to the Judiciary Committees and did not advance. In the Senate, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced S. 4509 for herself and Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan. In the House, Reps. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., and Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., are leading the companion effort, with original cosponsors including Reps. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, Troy Nehls, R-Texas, and Buddy Carter, R-Ga.
The bill would force health insurance companies and pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) to sell any pharmacies they own. According to Sen. Hawley, PBMs are driving up prescription drug costs and pushing out independent pharmacies. In response, a national PBM group claims that prescription drug manufacturers and wholesalers are driving up costs, not PBMs. That group characterizes the legislation as likely to weaken PBMs’ ability to negotiate with health insurance companies, employers’ self-insured health plans, and others, thereby increasing drug prices for Americans. Furthermore, the group warns that the bill could delay the delivery of specialty drugs to patients and reduce revenue, potentially costing some people their jobs.
Sens. Warren and Hawley are also collaborating on the Break Up Big Medicine Act bill, which would ban various healthcare organizations from owning their buyers or vendors.
The bill is currently under the jurisdiction of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. Ultimately, the bill’s sponsors forecast that the House Energy & Commerce Committee will likely share jurisdiction over the bill.
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