S. 377: Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019
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S. 377: Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019
116th Congress · introduced 2019-02-07 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2019-02-07 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019
Plain summary
Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019 This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.) The CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities. Additionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
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PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] · 4 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (1)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s377.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>
Record fed-us-cong116-s377 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116