October 29, 2026
Mr. Bergman (for himself, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Mann, Ms. Titus, Ms. Norton, Ms. Davids of Kansas, Ms. Balint, Mr. Golden of Maine, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Hernández, Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, and Mr. Newhouse) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to ensure that certain safety net providers are not required to pay more than the 340B ceiling price for covered outpatient drugs at the time of purchase.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Safety Net Provider Drug Pricing Protection Act
.
Sec. 2. Ensuring upfront 340B discounted pricing for certain safety net providers
(a) In general
Section 340B(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256b(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
(11) Upfront discounted pricing for certain safety net providers
(A) In general
The Secretary may not enter into an agreement with a manufacturer of covered outpatient drugs under paragraph (1) under which the amount required to be paid to the manufacturer for covered outpatient drugs by a safety net covered entity exceeds, at the point of purchase of such drug, the applicable ceiling price for such drug (as described in paragraph (1)).
(B) Safety net covered entity
For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term safety net covered entity means a covered entity that—
(i)
is described in any of subparagraphs (A), (D), (F), (G), (H), (I), (J), or (N) of paragraph (4);
(ii)
is an entity described in subparagraph (K) of such paragraph that receives funds directly from a State or unit of local government; or
(iii)
is a sole community hospital described in subparagraph (O) of such paragraph.
(b) Rule of construction
Nothing in this section, or the amendment made by this section, shall be construed to permit under paragraph (1) of section 340B(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256b(a)) any arrangement under which a safety net covered entity (as defined in paragraph (11)(B) of such section) pays to the manufacturer of a covered outpatient drug an amount in excess of the applicable ceiling price for such drug (as described in such paragraph (1)) at the time of purchase, with later reconciliation by rebate, reimbursement, or other payment.
(c) Effective dates
(1) In general
The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this section and shall apply to drugs purchased on or after the date of the enactment of this section.
(2) Application to existing agreements
Beginning on the date of the enactment of this section, the amendments made by this section shall be taken into account in determining whether an agreement with a manufacturer of covered outpatient drugs meets the requirements of section 340B(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256b(a)).