S. 348

Prescription Drug and Health Improvement Act of 2017

This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate lower prices on behalf of Medicare and Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries for covered prescription drugs that the CMS deems appropriate for negotiation based on: (1) program and per-beneficiary spending, (2) unit price increases over the preceding years, (3) initial launch price, (4) availability of similarly effective alternative treatments, (5) status of the drug as a follow-on to previously approved drugs, and (6) any other criteria determined by the CMS.

If, after a one year period, negotiations with respect to a covered prescription drug prove unsuccessful, the CMS shall establish a price for the drug that is equal to the lesser of the price paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs or the price paid by the four largest federal pharmaceutical-drug purchasers.

The CMS may (but is not required to) negotiate lower prices on behalf of Medicare and MA beneficiaries for other covered prescription drugs.

The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on the CMS' negotiations.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation must test several specified models for negotiating drug and biological prices.