End Price Gouging for Medications Act

Key Points

• The bill would cap U.S. prescription drug prices at the lowest retail price found in 12 reference countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The Secretary of Health and Human Services would set these reference prices every year.
• These price caps would apply across nearly all federal health programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, TRICARE, VA health care, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and Indian Health Service programs.
• The price caps also extend to everyone else, including uninsured individuals and people with private employer or individual health insurance. Drug manufacturers must offer the reference price to all purchasers, not just federal programs.
• Drug companies that charge more than the reference price would face a civil penalty equal to five times the excess revenue they collected. The penalty money would go to the National Institutes of Health for drug research and development.
• For drugs not widely sold in other countries (fewer than 3 reference countries), the Secretary would set a price based on factors like the drug's therapeutic value, development costs, and patient access.