PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jan 10, 2019
Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019
This bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug.
Under the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population.
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The bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.
People & committees
Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] · I–VT
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Jan 20, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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