Key Grassley Provisions Included in New Bipartisan Legislation to Lower Prescription Drug Costs and Make Health Care More Affordable

Key Grassley Provisions Included in New Bipartisan Legislation to Lower Prescription Drug Costs and Make Health Care More Affordable

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is cosponsoring legislation alongside Finance Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and 18 senators to improve accountability and oversight of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and bring down the price of prescription drugs for Americans. Grassley is an original cosponsor of the legislation, called the PBM Price Transparency and Accountability Act.

"Iowans at my 99 county meetings are fed up with the high cost of prescription drugs, and for good reason. PBMs are driving local pharmacies in Iowa out of business and making it harder for Iowans to access the medications they need. That's why I'm introducing legislation with my colleagues to put patients over pharmacy benefit managers by shining a light on the complex and opaque tactics these middlemen use. This landmark bill builds on the bipartisan legislation I spearheaded during my time as Finance Chairman, and includes several proposals I helped craft," Grassley said.

The Grassley-led provisions included in the bill would:

• Increase PBM reporting requirements to Medicare Part D plan sponsors and the Department of Health and Human Services;

• Require retail community pharmacies and certain other pharmacies to participate in the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC) survey; and

• Ban PBM spread pricing in the Medicaid program.

Several of the above were lifted from the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act, which Grassley led through the Finance Committee as chairman in 2019, and were included in 118^th Congress Finance Committee mark-up. The Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act was an initiative to save seniors and Americans with disabilities $95 billion in out-of-pocket costs in Medicare Part D and reduce premiums by $1 billion.

As then-chairman of Senate Finance Committee in 2003, Grassley was instrumental in creating Medicare Part D, which was the first outpatient prescription drug benefit for seniors.

You can view the full text of the bill HERE.

Additional cosponsors include Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

Background:

Grassley has long championed efforts to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. In recent years, three pieces of legislation authored and coauthored by Grassley have been signed into law saving taxpayers billions to combat anticompetitive practices and stop drug makers from reaping profits at the expense of taxpayers and consumers.

Other actions include:

• May 2025: Grassley chaired a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on PBMs where witnesses endorsed Grassley's PBM transparency push.
• April 2025: The Senate Judiciary Committee approved six bipartisan Grassley-backed bills to boost competition in the pharmaceutical industry and improve access to more affordable prescription drugs.
• February 2025: Grassley reintroduced two bills to lower prescription drug costs and drive accountability, the Prescription Pricing for the People Act and the PBM Transparency Act.
• January 2025: Grassley welcomed the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) second interim staff report on PBMs and urged congressional and executive branch action.
• July 2024: Grassley welcomed FTC's interim staff report on PBMs.
• January 2024: Grassley sent a letter urging the FTC to complete its investigation into the health care industry's most powerful prescription drug middlemen.
• November 2023: The Finance Committee adopted a Grassley-led provision to strengthen oversight of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and hold PBMs accountable.
• July 2023: The Finance Committee adopted several Grassley-led PBM accountability provisions.
• March 2023: The Senate Commerce Committee passed a Grassley-backed bill to hold PBMs accountable for unfair practices driving up costs for consumers.
• October 2022: Grassley led a bipartisan letter urging the FTC to complete its investigation into PBMs to shine light on drug pricing practices.
• June 2022: Following Grassley requests, FTC opens probe of prescription drug middlemen.
• January 2021: Grassley and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released a two-year bipartisan investigation into insulin price gouging.
• December 2019: Grassley and Wyden released the updated Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act to lower out-of-pocket costs.
• August 2018: Grassley requested the FTC assess pharmaceutical supply chain intermediaries.

Learn more about Grassley's persistent efforts to lower prescription drug costs HERE.

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