Bill > S2004

This bill, the Emergency Access to Insulin Act of 2019, aims to improve access to insulin by establishing several key provisions: 1. It requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award grants to states, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations to create insulin assistance programs that provide uninsured or underinsured individuals with free insulin for specified time periods. The programs must also help individuals seek eligibility for federal or state-funded programs that may cover insulin. 2. It exempts the prices used under these insulin assistance programs from being counted towards Medicaid's "best price" and "average manufacturer price" requirements, to incentivize participation. 3. It requires high-deductible health plans to count the amounts paid by the insulin assistance programs towards an underinsured individual's deductible and out-of-pocket expenses. 4. It imposes an annual fee on insulin manufacturers based on their market share to fund the insulin assistance programs. 5. It establishes an excise tax on insulin manufacturers when the price of an insulin product spikes by more than the inflation rate, with higher tax rates for larger price increases. 6. It reduces the marketing exclusivity period for biological insulin products from 12 to 7 years to promote competition and generic entry. In summary, this bill aims to improve access to affordable insulin through grant programs, Medicaid policy changes, and taxes/fees on insulin manufacturers.