# 119-hr-639: Doctor Knows Best Act of 2025

119-hr-639, Doctor Knows Best Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2] (R-NJ); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-639
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-639
- Congress: 119
- Title: Doctor Knows Best Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-22
- Sponsor: Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2] (R-NJ)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Ends prior authorization and other utilization controls for services a plan covers.** This bill would bar group and individual health plans and federal health care programs from imposing prior authorization, step therapy, or medical necessity reviews for any item or service that the plan covers, effective for plan years beginning Jan. 1, 2026. - Patients and families: Patients would face fewer prior-authorization delays and could get faster access to tests and treatments. - Clinicians and providers: Clinicians would no longer need to obtain prior authorizations or navigate step-therapy protocols for covered services, reducing administrative work. - Insurers and plan sponsors: Health insurers and plan sponsors would be prohibited from using utilization management tools to manage covered benefits, requiring them to change how they control access to care. - Federal programs: Federal health care programs and the federal employees' health program are included under the ban starting Jan. 1, 2026.

## Provisions PRIA read

- No prior authorization for covered care: benefit, medium. This bill would ban prior authorization, step therapy, and medical-necessity reviews for covered care. It would apply to group health plans and insurers offering group or individual coverage, plus federal health care programs defined in law and the federal employee health program. For private cover…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5301: PIPES Act of 2025
- 119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act
- 119-hr-4317: PBM Reform Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5061: Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-639 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/639)

## Related
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-5301: PIPES Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5301)
- [119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-137)
- [119-hr-4317: PBM Reform Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4317)
- [119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1229)
- [119-hr-5061: Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5061)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-639 (as of 2025-12-21).