Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text: continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) S4701)
Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act
This bill provides for permanent coverage under Medicare of certain pharmacist services.
Specifically, the bill provides for permanent coverage of testing and treatment services provided by pharmacists relating to (1) COVID-19, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and streptococcal pharyngitis (strep throat); and (2) other public health needs in relation to a declared public health emergency. (Similar authorities were temporarily granted during the COVID-19 public health emergency.) Such services must be provided in accordance with the applicable state laws governing pharmacists' scope of practice.
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 24, 2025. 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 24, 2025: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text: CR S4701)
- 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 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 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?
John Thune (R-SD) introduced it on July 24, 2025, and 31 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 16 Democrats, 15 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 24, 2025, 413 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 413 days ago, on July 24, 2025.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 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