Sponsors (15)
Caps TRICARE and VA drug cost‑sharing at the Medicare Part D beneficiary amount for drugs selected by the federal Drug Price Negotiation Program and limits federal procurement prices to the Program's maximum fair price.
The bill would lower and standardize out-of-pocket drug costs for veterans and reduce government drug spending, but it raises real risks of reduced drug availability, possible taxpayer cost-shifts, and weaker incentives for pharmaceutical innovation.
Veterans and TRICARE/VA beneficiaries (veterans, military families, and other program enrollees) would face lower and more predictable out-of-pocket costs because negotiated 'selected drugs' would have beneficiary cost-sharing capped at Medicare Part D levels and copay rules would be aligned across federal programs.
Federal agencies would be required to limit prices in master procurement agreements to the Program's maximum fair price, likely lowering government spending on prescription drugs and reducing costs for taxpayers and federally funded health systems.
Drug manufacturers might restrict supply to or withdraw products from federal programs to avoid lower master agreement prices, risking reduced access to medicines for veterans and other beneficiaries.
Capping beneficiary copayments at Medicare Part D levels could shift more drug costs onto taxpayers if agencies absorb higher shares of drug prices under the negotiated maximum fair price.
Lower revenues from federal procurement could reduce manufacturers' incentives to invest in new drug R&D or prompt higher prices in non-federal markets, potentially raising costs for other consumers and slowing innovation.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Official title: To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to set the maximum cost-sharing amount paid by an eligible covered beneficiary under the TRICARE program and a veteran for such selected drug, as established under the Social Security Act, and the maximum price of a selected drug procured by Federal agencies, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 7, 2026 by Eugene Simon Vindman · Last progress May 7, 2026
Limits how much people using TRICARE and VA pharmacy benefits pay for certain prescription drugs by tying beneficiary cost‑sharing or copayments to the price a Medicare Part D enrollee pays for that same drug in the same year under the federal Drug Price Negotiation Program. It also requires Federal master procurement agreements for those same drugs to cap the maximum price a manufacturer can set at the Program's maximum fair price for the life of the agreement, with transition rules for existing agreements and reversion if the Program ends. The changes apply only to drugs designated as “selected drugs” under the Drug Price Negotiation Program and add cross‑references so the TRICARE, VA, and federal procurement provisions line up with the Program's definitions and pricing rules.