# 119-hr-6610: Pharmacists Fight Back [in Federal Employee Health Benefit Plans Act]

119-hr-6610, Pharmacists Fight Back [in Federal Employee Health Benefit Plans Act], is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Auchincloss, Jake [D-MA-4] (D-MA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-31).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6610
- As of: 2026-10-31
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-6610
- Congress: 119
- Title: Pharmacists Fight Back [in Federal Employee Health Benefit Plans Act]
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-12-11
- Sponsor: Rep. Auchincloss, Jake [D-MA-4] (D-MA)
- Cosponsors: 47
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-31

## Summary

**This bill would rein in pharmacy benefit managers in Federal Employee Health Benefits plans and push more drug costs and rebates to the point of sale.** It sets specific reimbursement formulas, bans steering and other PBM practices, and creates penalties and enforcement tools to force compliance. - Federal employees and their families would see manufacturer rebates reduce coinsurance or copays at checkout, and carriers would receive the remainder of those rebates. - In-network pharmacies would be paid ingredient cost based on the national average drug acquisition cost (NADAC) or, if NADAC is unavailable, wholesale acquisition cost, plus the lesser of 4% of NADAC or $50. They would also get a professional dispensing fee equal to the State Medicaid fee under Title XIX. - Pharmacy benefit managers would face $10,000 penalties per violation with caps of $100,000 per PBM and $50,000 per carrier per 10-year period. After a fifth penalty the carrier must submit a remediation plan within 60 days. The Attorney General may sue to collect penalties and recovered amounts go to the Employees Health Benefits Fund. The changes would take effect one year after enactment.

## Cosponsors (47)

- Rep. De La Cruz, Monica [R-TX-15] (R-TX), 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Crawford, Eric A. "Rick" [R-AR-1] (R-AR), 2026-10-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wilson, Joe [R-SC-2] (R-SC), 2026-10-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Comer, James [R-KY-1] (R-KY), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harshbarger, Diana [R-TN-1] (R-TN), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1] (R-GA), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ciscomani, Juan [R-AZ-6] (R-AZ), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] (D-MA), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Deluzio, Christopher R. [D-PA-17] (D-PA), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Budzinski, Nikki [D-IL-13] (D-IL), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8] (D-IL), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17] (D-CA), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7] (D-MA), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gonzalez, Vicente [D-TX-34] (D-TX), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-1] (R-AL), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Subramanyam, Suhas [D-VA-10] (D-VA), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2] (D-WI), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bishop, Sanford D. [D-GA-2] (D-GA), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] (D-MN), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Westerman, Bruce [R-AR-4] (R-AR), 2025-12-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Scott, Austin [R-GA-8] (R-GA), 2026-01-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fleischmann, Charles J. "Chuck" [R-TN-3] (R-TN), 2026-01-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5] (R-KY), 2026-01-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Maloy, Celeste [R-UT-2] (R-UT), 2026-01-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McGarvey, Morgan [D-KY-3] (D-KY), 2026-01-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bergman, Jack [R-MI-1] (R-MI), 2026-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17] (R-TX), 2026-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clyde, Andrew S. [R-GA-9] (R-GA), 2026-01-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rogers, Mike D. [R-AL-3] (R-AL), 2026-02-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Aderholt, Robert B. [R-AL-4] (R-AL), 2026-02-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Burchett, Tim [R-TN-2] (R-TN), 2026-04-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Strong, Dale W. [R-AL-5] (R-AL), 2026-04-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mann, Tracey [R-KS-1] (R-KS), 2026-04-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Langworthy, Nicholas A. [R-NY-23] (R-NY), 2026-05-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Palmer, Gary J. [R-AL-6] (R-AL), 2026-05-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2] (D-AL), 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Frost, Maxwell [D-FL-10] (D-FL), 2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McCormick, Richard [R-GA-7] (R-GA), 2026-07-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3] (D-AZ), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bresnahan, Robert P. [R-PA-8] (R-PA), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2] (D-MS), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ezell, Mike [R-MS-4] (R-MS), 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kelly, Trent [R-MS-1] (R-MS), 2026-08-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ), 2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Guest, Michael [R-MS-3] (R-MS), 2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Lower drug costs at FEHB pharmacies: benefit, medium. This bill would set how in-network FEHB pharmacies get paid. Ingredient cost would equal NADAC on the day of claim adjudication, or WAC if NADAC is unavailable. PBMs would add the lesser of 4% of that cost or $50. PBMs would also pay the State Medicaid dispensing fee where the pharmacy is located.…
- Clear definitions for PBMs and pharmacies: benefit, low. This bill would add clear definitions for key terms used in the PBM rules for FEHB plans. It would define affiliate, beneficiary, in-network pharmacy, pharmacy benefits manager, pharmacy benefits management services, and prescription drug for enforcement purposes. These definitions would help apply…
- Carrier duties and remediation rules: mixed, medium. This bill would require FEHB carriers to follow the PBM payment and prohibition rules and to include contract terms that block payments to debarred PBMs. Carriers would have to cooperate with OPM inspections and provide documents, staff, and facilities when asked. If a carrier is tied to a PBM that…
- Fines and possible debarment for PBMs: mixed, medium. This bill would let OPM impose $10,000 penalties for each PBM violation. A PBM could not face more than $100,000 in penalties per 10-year period with respect to a carrier, and a carrier's total penalties could not exceed $50,000 per 10-year period. OPM could debar a PBM that gets 10 or more penalti…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025
- 119-hr-8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-6610 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6610)

## Related
- [119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-909)
- [119-hr-8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8800)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2102)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1422)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6610 (as of 2026-10-31).