EPIC Act of 2025

Key Points

• Senator Tillis introduced a bill that would change how long the government must wait before negotiating lower prices for certain prescription drugs. Currently, Medicare can start negotiating prices for 'small-molecule' drugs—which are most standard pills—seven years after they are approved for sale.
• The bill would increase this waiting period to 11 years starting in 2028. This change would make the timeline for pills the same as the timeline for 'biologics,' which are more complex medicines usually given by injection or IV.
• This policy would mostly affect seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Medicare. By waiting four extra years to negotiate, the government and patients might continue paying higher brand-name prices for popular medications for a longer period of time.
• The goal of the change is to encourage drug companies to keep inventing new pills. Supporters argue that the current seven-year limit makes it too hard for companies to earn back the money they spent on research, which could stop them from creating new cures.
• If this becomes law, it would slow down the government's ability to lower costs for some of the most common brand-name drugs on the market. This could result in higher spending for the Medicare program and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs for some patients.