American Pharmaceutical Security Act

What it does

• •Requires the CMS Administrator to submit a report to Congress within one year analyzing how Medicare/Medicaid coverage and reimbursement authorities could protect U.S. and allied markets for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and key starting materials.
• •Directs the report to include policy recommendations on using price floors to support domestic manufacturing and to prioritize domestically manufactured ingredients over foreign-manufactured ones when domestic sources exist.
• •Mandates identification of data gaps regarding the origin and ownership of active pharmaceutical ingredients and key starting materials needed to implement the recommendations.

Why it matters

• •The bill addresses pharmaceutical supply chain security by examining whether Medicare/Medicaid purchasing power can be leveraged to reduce dependence on foreign adversaries for critical drug manufacturing inputs.
• •The report may inform future policy on domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing investment and market protection against foreign price manipulation and nonmarket practices.

Who is affected

• •The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which must conduct and submit the report.
• •Domestic and foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredients and key starting materials.
• •Congress, which will receive the report and recommendations.

What happens next

The bill has been introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance; if enacted, CMS would have one year from enactment to submit the required report.