| Health-related Bill Name | Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act (PDPRA) of 2019 |
| Bill Number | S.2543 (116th) |
| Description | The PDPRA was introduced to the floor of the house by Senator Grassley Chuck on 25th September 2019 (S.2543 – 116th Congress (2019-2020): Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019, 2019). The finance committee endorsed the legislation by a 19 – 9 ballot, with minor amendments to the original chairman’s mark. The bill seeks to amend numerous requirements ad programs associated with prescription drugs’ prices covered by Medicare and Medicaid by focusing on eradicating several competition obstacles, enhancing Part D of Medicare benefit design on outpatient prescription medication, and lowering the cost of medications (Adler et al., 2019). |
| Federal or State? | Federal |
| Legislative Intent | To enhance access to quality medical care to all Americans by seeking to curb the rising cost of prescription drugs (Kanavos et al., 2020). The PDRPA legislation targets to mandate the Center for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) to issue specific information associated with drug discounts and refunds, as well as payments between pharmacies, medical insurance, and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) (Kang et al., 2019a). Similarly, the bill seeks to lower the yearly out-of-pocket (OOP) spending threshold; mandate drug manufacturers to publish refunds to the CMS for a rejected quantity of particular single-dose medications under Medicare, as well as rebates for CMS for certain prescriptions under the Medicare that the average pharmaceutical company’s price rises faster than the country’s inflation rate (Adler et al., 2019). The bill aims to tackle all the entwined issues and practices that impede attempts to reduce costs and distort incentives within the country’s prescription medication system. |
| Proponents/ Opponents | Proponents:
Sponsored by one senator, 19 approved it at the committee level |
| Opponents:
Nine senators opposed it at the committee level |
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| Target Population | All Americans seeking medical treatment |
| Status of the bill (Is it in hearings or committees?) | At the moment, the PDRPA was introduced to the Senate Finance Committee on 25th September 2019, and it has been placed on the senate’s legislative agenda order No. 225 (S.2543 – 116th Congress (2019-2020): Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019, 2019). It was re-introduced on 20th July 2020, when it was read twice and referred to the Senate Finance Committee (S. 4199 Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2020). The PDRPA has not received adequate press coverage unlike the related bills like the S.1505 Medicare Prescription Drug Fraud Prevention Act. Legislation Grid and Testimony/Advocacy Statement Assignment Example |
| General Notes/Comments
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In general, the PDRPA legislation targets to tackle the entwined challenges marking the U.S. prescription drug system. Streamlining the benefits framework of Part D of the Medicare benefit provides the possibility to expand the desired recipient’s financial safeguards while rectifying inaccurate incentives that bloat drug spending. |
Part 2: Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement
Good afternoon all, I am Janelle McEwen, an MSN, BSN holder, a registered labor and delivery nurse (RN) at Northside Hospital, Georgia. Today, I am here not only as an RN but also a citizen to request your backing in co-sponsoring and proposing the S.2543 policy titled the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2020, which has been introduced at the floor of the house and is currently placed on the senate’s legislative agenda order No. 225 (Kanavos et al., 2020). Presently, the U.S. prescription drug system is marked by numerous challenges, with the principal one being the exorbitantly high costs of prescription medications, mainly those providing limited value by both medical plans and patients (Mathis, 2021). Available statisti
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