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United States · Bill · S

S. 2023 (114th)

Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2015

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

10 September 2015

Last action

10 September 2015 · Introduced

Status

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Sponsors

Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT], Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN]

Subjects

Healthcare

Source updated

10 January 2026

Healthcare

Summary

Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2015 This bill amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to modify provisions related to the affordability of prescription drugs under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Specifically, the bill: requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid to negotiate lower prices on behalf of beneficiaries for drugs covered under Medicare Part D; accelerates closure of the Medicare Part D coverage gap known as the "donut hole," under which beneficiaries who have reached a certain level of yearly drug costs become fully responsible for any additional drug costs up to a certain limit; requires drug manufacturers to issue rebates for prescription drugs dispensed to eligible low-income individuals under Medicare or Medicaid; and expands the application of certain prescription drug rebate requirements under Medicaid to include rebates for generic drugs. The bill also amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to: (1) allow the importation by individuals of prescription drugs from Canada and, potentially, other countries; and (2) establish certain conditions on the award of market exclusivity with respect to drugs. Specifically, a drug manufacturer's market exclusivity shall be terminated if the manufacturer commits, or fails to report, a drug-related violation such as misbranding, illegal marketing, or fraud. In addition, the bill amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to: (1) establish restrictions on certain anticompetitive patent settlements known as "pay-for-delay" agreements, which effectively block generic drug competition; and (2) allow the Federal Trade Commission to initiate proceedings to enforce these restrictions against any parties to such a settlement. The bill also requires drug manufacturers to produce and share annual reports containing specified information related to domestic and foreign sales.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 10 September 2015

    Introduced

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 10 September 2015

    Introduced

    Introduced in Senate

    Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Documents

3 official files

Introduced in Senate (text)

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  • Introduced in Senate (text)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 10 September 2015

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

  • Introduced in Senate (PDF)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 10 September 2015

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

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  • Introduced in Senate

    summary · EN · 10 September 2015

    Open at official source

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Sponsors

Related records

Sources

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