{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/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", "2025-12-04", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "IA", "Chuck Grassley", "G000386", "www.grassley.senate.gov", "grassley", "https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 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.\n\n\u201cIowans 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\u2019s why I\u2019m 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,\u201d Grassley said.\n\nThe Grassley\u2013led provisions included in the bill would:\n\nIncrease PBM reporting requirements to Medicare Part D plan sponsors and the Department of Health and Human Services;\n\nRequire retail community pharmacies and certain other pharmacies to participate in the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC) survey; and\n\nBan PBM spread pricing in the Medicaid program.\n\nSeveral 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 118th 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.\n\nAs 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.\n\nYou can view the full text of the bill HERE.\n\nAdditional 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 Luj\u00e1n (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.).\n\nBackground:\n\nGrassley 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.\n\nOther actions include:\n\nMay 2025: Grassley chaired a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on PBMs where witnesses endorsed Grassley\u2019s PBM transparency push.\n\nApril 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.\n\nFebruary 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.\n\nJanuary 2025: Grassley welcomed the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s (FTC) second interim staff report on PBMs and urged congressional and executive branch action.\n\nJuly 2024: Grassley welcomed FTC\u2019s interim staff report on PBMs.\n\nJanuary 2024: Grassley sent a letter urging the FTC to complete its investigation into the health care industry\u2019s most powerful prescription drug middlemen.\n\nNovember 2023: The Finance Committee adopted a Grassley-led provision to strengthen oversight of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and hold PBMs accountable.\n\nJuly 2023: The Finance Committee adopted several Grassley-led PBM accountability provisions.\n\nMarch 2023: The Senate Commerce Committee passed a Grassley-backed bill to hold PBMs accountable for unfair practices driving up costs for consumers.\n\nOctober 2022: Grassley led a bipartisan letter urging the FTC to complete its investigation into PBMs to shine light on drug pricing practices.\n\nJune 2022: Following Grassley requests, FTC opens probe of prescription drug middlemen.\n\nJanuary 2021: Grassley and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released a two-year bipartisan investigation into insulin price gouging.\n\nDecember 2019: Grassley and Wyden released the updated Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act to lower out-of-pocket costs.\n\nAugust 2018: Grassley requested the FTC assess pharmaceutical supply chain intermediaries.\n\nLearn more about Grassley\u2019s persistent efforts to lower prescription drug costs HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/key-grassley-provisions-included-in-new-bipartisan-legislation-to-lower-prescription-drug-costs-and-make-health-care-more-affordable"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2720349952578545, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}