Competition Prescription Act of 2019
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on the Constitution, civil rightsProtections against discrimination and guarantees of equal participation, usually enforced by statute. Civil liberties are freedoms from government interference.Read the full definition (opens a new tab), and Civil Liberties.
Competition Prescription Act of 2019
This bill revises various requirements related to the development, production, and sale of prescription drugs and biological products.
First, the bill permits the developer of a drug or biological product to bring a civil action against the license holder of an approved product if the license holder has declined to make available sufficient quantities of the approved product for the developer's testing.
The bill also requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish a process for developers of generic complex drugs to request and receive expedited development and priority review. Further, upon request by a drug sponsor, a drug that treats a life-threatening disease or condition must be designated for expedited review if there are fewer than three drugs currently available for such treatment.
States are prohibited from placing restrictions on dispensing substitute biological products that have been determined to be interchangeable with another product by the FDA.
Additionally, the bill prohibits sponsors of Medicare Part D prescription drug plans from reducing a payment to a pharmacy after a claim without defect has been submitted by such pharmacy. The bill establishes requirements for pricing standards for pharmacy benefits managers under Medicare and other federal prescription drug benefits programs. Starting in 2025, the bill removes the cap on rebates paid by manufacturers of outpatient prescription drugs under Medicaid.
Further, the bill requires the publication of specified information regarding licensed biological products, exempts from antitrust prohibitions specified drug-price negotiation strategies, and establishes a Chief Pharmaceutical Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 24, 2019. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on August 28, 2019: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Mark Meadows (R-NC) introduced it on July 24, 2019. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 24, 2019, 2605 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2570 days ago, on August 28, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers