H.R. 3: Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act

117th Congress · introduced 2021-04-22 · Health · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2021-04-22 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Pallone, Frank, Jr. [D-NJ-6] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. 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.

What does this mean?

Official title

Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act

Plain summary

Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act This bill establishes several programs and requirements relating to the prices of prescription drugs. In particular, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate prices for certain drugs (current law prohibits HHS from doing so). Specifically, HHS must negotiate maximum prices for single-source, brand-name drugs that lack certain generics and that are among either the 125 drugs that account for the greatest national spending or the 125 drugs that account for the greatest Medicare spending. HHS must negotiate the prices of at least 25 such drugs for 2024 and of at least 50 such drugs thereafter and must also negotiate prices for certain newly approved drugs and for insulin products. The negotiated prices must be offered under Medicare and may also be offered under private health insurance unless the insurer opts out. The negotiated maximum price may not exceed (1) 120% of the average price in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom; or (2) if such information is not available, 85% of the U.S. average manufacturer price. Drug manufacturers that fail to comply with the bill's negotiation requirements are subject to civil and tax penalties. The bill also makes a series of additional changes to Medicare prescription drug coverage and pricing, including by (1) requiring drug manufacturers to issue rebates to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for covered drugs that cost $100 or more and for which the average manufacturer price increases faster than inflation, and (2) capping annual out-of-pocket spending under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. The bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified information for certain high-cost drugs, and it provides funds for opioid epidemic initiatives and biomedical research.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Pallone, Frank, Jr. [D-NJ-6] · 92 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Richard E. Neal (D-MA), Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Steven Horsford (D-NV), John B. Larson (D-CT), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD), Darren Soto (D-FL), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Joseph D. Morelle (D-NY), Ed Case (D-HI), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Angie Craig (D-MN), Sean Casten (D-IL), Lauren Underwood (D-IL), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Salud O. Carbajal (D-CA), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and 32 more.

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Pallone, Frank, Jr. [D-NJ-6] reported raising $2.8 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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 (2)

Ballot initiative: A proposed law or constitutional amendment that citizens place on the ballot by gathering enough voter signatures, so voters decide it directly. About half the states allow some form of it.
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 House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-117hr3.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/hr>

Record fed-us-cong117-hr3 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117