II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 977 

To address the high cost of prescription drugs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 1, 2019 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself and Mr. HAWLEY) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To address the high cost of prescription drugs. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transparent Drug 

5 Pricing Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PRICE TRANSPARENCY AT PHARMACIES. 

7 Section 1927(g)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 1396r–8(g)(2)) is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(E) DISCLOSURE OF DRUG PRICES AT

11 POINT OF SALE.—Beginning January 1, 2022, 


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•S 977 IS

1 as part of a State’s drug use review program, 

2 applicable State law shall require pharmacists 

3 to disclose to customers, at the point of sale of 

4 any prescription drug— 

5 ‘‘(i) the customer’s out-of-pocket cost 

6 with respect to acquisition of such drug 

7 under the health plan in which the cus8 tomer is enrolled, if applicable; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the cost to the consumer for ac10 quisition of the drug without using any 

11 health plan.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO PRESCRIPTION 

13 DRUG COST-SHARING. 

14 Subpart II of part A of title XXVII of the Public 

15 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–11 et seq.) is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 2729A. REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO PRESCRIP18 TION DRUG COST-SHARING. 

19 ‘‘(a) CREDIT TOWARDS DEDUCTIBLE.—With respect 

20 to any enrollee in a health plan or individual or group 

21 health insurance coverage who pays out-of-pocket for the 

22 full cost of a prescription drug, the group health plan or 

23 health insurance issuer offering such health insurance cov24 erage shall credit the full amount such enrollee paid for 


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1 such drug towards any deductible under the plan or cov2 erage applicable to prescription drugs. 

3 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CO-PAYMENTS FOR CER4 TAIN PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A group health plan or a 

6 health insurance issuer offering group or individual 

7 health insurance coverage shall, not later than 60 

8 days before the first annual open enrollment period 

9 after the date of enactment of the Transparent Drug 

10 Pricing Act of 2019, and 60 days before each annual 

11 open enrollment period thereafter, publish a list of 

12 the co-payment amounts for the applicable plan year 

13 with respect to each prescription drug covered under 

14 the plan or coverage. 

15 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON CHANGES IN CO-PAY16 MENT AMOUNTS.—A group health plan or health in17 surance issuer described in paragraph (1) may not 

18 change the co-payment amount published in accord19 ance with paragraph (1) until the next plan year. 

20 ‘‘(3) CALCULATION OF OUT-OF-POCKET

21 COSTS.—A group health plan or a health insurance 

22 issuer offering group or individual health insurance 

23 coverage shall provide a mechanism that enables en24 rollees in the plan or coverage to determine the pro25 jected total out-of-pocket costs of an enrollee in the 


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1 plan or coverage for each prescription drug covered 

2 under such plan or coverage.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL RETAIL LIST PRICE INDEX. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The retail list price in the United 

5 States for a drug approved under subsection (c) or (j) of 

6 section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 

7 (21 U.S.C. 355) or a biological product licensed under 

8 subsection (a) or (k) of section 351 of the Public Health 

9 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262) may not exceed the lowest 

10 retail list price for the drug among Canada, France, the 

11 United Kingdom, Japan, or Germany. 

12 (b) SUNSET.—The requirement under subsection (a) 

13 shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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