Cotton Introduces Bill to Strengthen Access to Care for Active-Duty Military Families

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
March 17, 2026

Cotton Introduces Bill to Strengthen Access to Care for Active-Duty Military Families

Washington, DC - Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) today introduced legislation to strengthen pharmacy access for active-duty military members and their families. The Rx ACCESS Act protects independent pharmacies from unfair reimbursement practices in the TRICARE program and ensures that military members and their families have easy access to the prescriptions they need.

"Our active-duty troops and their families make extraordinary sacrifices for our nation, yet they often face difficulties accessing essential prescription medications. Our bill will ensure that active-duty military families can access their prescriptions at pharmacies of their choice," said Senator Cotton.

"We have an obligation to our servicemembers and their families to ensure they have access to high-quality health care. This bipartisan legislation is critical to ensuring active-duty military members and families can get the prescription medication they need, and I'll be working with my colleagues to get it passed," said Senator Kaine.

Text of the bill can be found here.

The Rx ACCESS Act would:

• Require pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to reimburse pharmacies participating in TRICARE:
  • The actual cost of the drug; or
  • The national average drug acquisition cost.
• Ensure pharmacies are paid a dispensing fee equal to the Medicaid dispensing fee.
• Direct the Comptroller General to conduct an annual audit of TRICARE PBM data related to:
  • Prescription drug reimbursement rates, and;
  • Adequacy of TRICARE retail pharmacy network access with respect to continuity of care and geographic accessibility.

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