Legislation & Regulation

Following House passage of congressional Republican’s budget reconciliation package, the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), Senate Republicans took to their respective committees to provide edits and changes to the massive tax-cut, border security, energy reform, and health care package.

As CMS explores strategies to increase the adoption of digital health tools, AMCP urges CMS to support broader coverage of prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) under Medicare and Medicaid. PDTs represent an emerging class of software-based treatments that deliver clinically validated therapeutic benefits, either independently or in combination with other interventions. These products can play a transformative role in improving access, especially for patients with behavioral health conditions or chronic diseases.

Yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released the text and a section-by-section summary of its portion of the reconciliation bill. The package focuses largely on higher education, targeting financial assistance programs that Republicans allege inflate tuition costs at colleges and universities. While the committee adjusted certain policies in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), the House’s version of reconciliation that passed last month, the draft bill leaves two policies that AMCP is tracking untouched.

Removal of all members of ACIP at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) is nothing short of alarming. Vaccines are a vital component of American public health infrastructure, and their safety and efficacy is well-established by reliable clinical evidence. Pharmacists, including AMCP members, provide patients with vaccines that prevent serious illness, hospitalizations, and even death. In many states, pharmacists’ ability to administer these life-saving vaccines are tied to ACIP recommendations.

AMCP supports the Access to Prescription Digital Therapeutics Act. Expanding coverage of PDTs will improve care for millions of American patients and help standardize reimbursement practices and coding of these therapies across both public and private payers.

AMCP supports the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act. This bill will help ensure that Americans can continue to rely on pharmacists as essential partners in pandemic preparedness and response. The ECAPS Act will also improve patient access to tests and treatments by authorizing pharmacists to provide these services and receive reimbursement under Medicare Part B. The ECAPS Act addresses disparities in public health preparedness in medically underserved communities like rural areas by allowing these patients to seek care from their most accessible provider.

AMCP strongly supports the passage of the MVP Act. Medicaid beneficiaries are among America's most vulnerable patients. Value-based payment arrangements are a critical tool for promoting patient access to high-quality, affordable care.

Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an updated cost estimate for the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1). This cost estimate incorporates the amendments made to H.R. 1 in the hours before the House passed the legislation by a vote of 215-214-1.

AMCP member advocates from across the country took to Capitol Hill to speak with lawmakers about ways to improve patient access to innovative new treatments as well as critical pharmacy legislation.