S. 4323: Ensuring Access to Lower-Cost Medicines for Seniors Act

119th Congress · introduced 2026-04-16 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

federal

Official title

Ensuring Access to Lower-Cost Medicines for Seniors Act

Plain summary

Ensuring Access to Lower-Cost Medicines for Seniors Act This bill requires prescription drug plans under the Medicare prescription drug benefit to include generic drugs and biosimilars on their formularies. Specifically, the bill requires plans that use formularies to include generic drugs and biosimilars on the formularies and without any requirements (e.g., prior authorization requirements) that are more restrictive as compared to those for brand-name drugs and biologics. Plans that use cost-sharing tiers must also have specific tiers for generic drugs and biosimilars, in accordance with certain limitations.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Ensuring Access to Lower-Cost Medicines for Seniors Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] · 2 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] reported raising $1.2 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-119s4323.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/s>

Record fed-us-cong119-s4323 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong119 · updated 2026-11-03 by psicol fed-bills