I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5343 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to nullify certain contractual provi-
sions prohibiting or penalizing a pharmacist’s disclosure of the availability 
of therapeutically equivalent alternative drugs, or alternative methods 
of purchasing the prescription drug, that are less expensive, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 20, 2018 
Mr. CARTER of Georgia (for himself, Mr. WELCH, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. AUSTIN 
SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, and Mrs. MCMORRIS ROD-
GERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to nullify certain 
contractual provisions prohibiting or penalizing a phar-
macist’s disclosure of the availability of therapeutically 
equivalent alternative drugs, or alternative methods of 
purchasing the prescription drug, that are less expensive, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prescription Trans-
parency Act of 2018’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROHIBITED GAG PROVISIONS. 
Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 320B. PROHIBITED GAG PROVISIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No contract that is between— 
‘‘(1) a health insurer or any entity that pro-
vides pharmacy benefits management services on be-
half of a health insurer (commonly referred to as a 
‘pharmacy benefit manager’); and 
‘‘(2) a pharmacy, pharmacist, or a pharmacy’s 
contracting agent, such as a pharmacy services ad-
ministrative organization, 
may contain a provision prohibiting or penalizing (includ-
ing through increased utilization review, reduced pay-
ments, or other financial disincentives) a pharmacist’s dis-
closure to an individual purchasing a prescription drug of 
information regarding the cost of the prescription drug to 
the individual (including any copayment or coinsurance), 
or regarding the availability of any therapeutically equiva-
lent alternative drug, or alternative methods of purchasing 
the prescription drug (including paying a cash price), that 
are less expensive than the cost of the prescription drug 
to the individual. 
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‘‘(b) NULL AND VOID.—Any provision described in 
subsection (a) in a contract described in subsection (a) 
is null and void. 
‘‘(c) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) applies only 
with respect to contracts, and contract addenda, entered 
into or renewed on or after the date of enactment of the 
Prescription Transparency Act of 2018. 
‘‘(d) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE.—The Secretary 
may issue such regulations and guidance as may be nec-
essary for implementation of this section. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘drug’ has the meaning given to 
such term in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, 
and Cosmetic Act. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘health insurer’ means a health 
insurance issuer (as defined in section 2791) offer-
ing health insurance coverage (as defined in such 
section) in the individual or group market or a spon-
sor of a group health plan (as defined in such sec-
tion). 
‘‘(3) The term ‘prescription drug’ means a drug 
subject to section 503(b)(1) of the Federal Food, 
Drug, and Cosmetic Act.’’. 
Æ 
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