Affordable Medicines Utilization Act of 2011
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Affordable Medicines Utilization Act of 2011 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, with respect to FY2012-FY2014, to require an increase in the quarterly Medicaid payment to a state by 50% of the generic drug utilization savings amount if the state's generic substitution rate for the most recent preceding fiscal year for which data is available is greater than its rate for the most recent second preceding fiscal year for which data is available.
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine the state's generic substitution rate for such fiscal years.
Defines "generic substitution rate" as the share of all drug units for which Medicaid payment is made to a state for the 20 most widely prescribed multiple source drugs under the state program that have a specific National Drug Code.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 13, 2011. 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 July 13, 2011: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 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?
Scott Brown (R-MA) introduced it on July 13, 2011, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 2 Republicans.
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 13, 2011, 5538 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5538 days ago, on July 13, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers