United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 4 R · 4 D cosponsors

S 882 — Patients Before Middlemen Act

Last action — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced March 06, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 8 sponsors

    1 primary, 7 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (4 R · 4 D) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Patients Before Middlemen ActThis bill establishes certain standards and reporting requirements for prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsors, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and pharmacies under the Medicare prescription drug benefit and Medicare Advantage.Specifically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must develop reasonable and relevant standards for contracts between PDP sponsors and pharmacies. The CMS must seek input from interested stakeholders when developing these standards. PDP sponsors are subject to civil penalties for violating these standards; PBMs must reimburse PDP sponsors for civil penalties that result from their responsibilities.The bill also requires the CMS to report periodically on essential retail pharmacies (i.e., pharmacies that serve as the only pharmacy within a certain radius) with respect to costs, contracts, and other specified information, particularly in relation to other types of pharmacies.Additionally, PBMs may not receive any income other than flat, bona fide service fees. PBMs must turn over any excess amounts they receive to PDP sponsors; PDP sponsors must turn over these amounts to the CMS. In addition, PBMs must report to PDP sponsors and to the CMS an itemized list of prescription drugs that were dispensed during the previous year and related data about costs, claims, affiliated pharmacies, and other specified information. PDP sponsors may audit PBMs to ensure compliance with these requirements and must annually certify their compliance; PBMs are responsible for any associated civil penalties for violations.The bill's changes generally apply beginning in 2028.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 7 co-sponsors · 539 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (7)

Not signed on (539)

539 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 539 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

healthcare health-insurance
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 882 do?
Patients Before Middlemen ActThis bill establishes certain standards and reporting requirements for prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsors, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and pharmacies under the Medicare prescription drug benefit and Medicare Advantage.Specifically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must develop reasonable and relevant standards for contracts between PDP sponsors and pharmacies. The CMS must seek input from interested stakeholders when developing these standards. PDP sponsors are subject to civil penalties for violating these standards; PBMs must reimburse PDP sponsors for civil penalties that result from their responsibilities.The bill also requires the CMS to report periodically on essential retail pharmacies (i.e., pharmacies that serve as the only pharmacy within a certain radius) with respect to costs, contracts, and other specified information, particularly in relation to other types of pharmacies.Additionally, PBMs may not receive any income other than flat, bona fide service fees. PBMs must turn over any excess amounts they receive to PDP sponsors; PDP sponsors must turn over these amounts to the CMS. In addition, PBMs must report to PDP sponsors and to the CMS an itemized list of prescription drugs that were dispensed during the previous year and related data about costs, claims, affiliated pharmacies, and other specified information. PDP sponsors may audit PBMs to ensure compliance with these requirements and must annually certify their compliance; PBMs are responsible for any associated civil penalties for violations.The bill's changes generally apply beginning in 2028.
Who sponsors S 882?
S 882 is sponsored by Blackburn, Marsha (Republican), Hassan, Margaret Wood (Democratic), Lankford, James (Republican), Warner, Mark R. (Democratic), Marshall, Roger (Republican), Welch, Peter (Democratic), Cortez Masto, Catherine (Democratic), and Cassidy, Bill (Republican).
What is the current status of S 882?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced March 06, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 882?
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