# 119-s-2903: Safe Step Act 119-s-2903, Safe Step Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] (R-AK); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-27). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2903 - As of: 2026-09-27 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-2903 - Congress: 119 - Title: Safe Step Act - Status: in_committee - Introduced: 2025-09-18 - Sponsor: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] (R-AK) - Cosponsors: 52 - Policy area: Health - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-09-27 ## Summary **Mandatory exceptions process for medication step therapy in group health plans.** This bill would require plans and issuers to let participants or prescribers request clear, prompt, and transparent exceptions and would mandate public reporting to the Secretary of Labor. - Families and patients: Patients could get faster access to prescribed non-preferred drugs when doctors request exceptions, with initial decisions in 72 hours and expedited reviews in 24 hours for urgent cases. - Prescribers and clinicians: Prescribers could submit clinical rationale and medical records on a standard paper or electronic form and request expedited review when delay risks severe harm. - Group health plans and issuers: Plans would have to keep granted exceptions in effect for at least 1 year and publish process details in plan materials and online. - Pharmacy benefit managers and administrators: Plans would have to report step therapy requests, approvals, denials, appeals, and related conditions to the Secretary of Labor starting within 3 years and annually after, and contracts could not block access to information needed for those reports. ## Cosponsors (52) - Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH] (D-NH), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS] (R-KS), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV] (D-NV), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK] (R-AK), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Warnock, Raphael G. [D-GA] (D-GA), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS] (R-MS), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] (D-NV), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS] (R-KS), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND] (R-ND), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] (D-NH), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-10-01T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] (R-AR), 2025-10-01T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2025-10-01T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-10-07T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM), 2025-10-07T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-10-07T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-10-21T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-10-23T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2025-10-23T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] (R-NE), 2025-10-27T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] (D-MI), 2025-11-19T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL), 2025-12-04T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Ossoff, Jon [D-GA] (D-GA), 2025-12-09T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-12-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME] (R-ME), 2026-02-12T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2026-02-24T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA] (D-VA), 2026-02-25T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2026-03-02T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI), 2026-03-05T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA] (D-WA), 2026-03-05T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2026-03-10T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-03-10T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] (D-WA), 2026-03-17T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] (R-WV), 2026-03-25T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Justice, James C. [R-WV] (R-WV), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Husted, Jon [R-OH] (R-OH), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] (D-CT), 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Slotkin, Elissa [D-MI] (D-MI), 2026-06-15T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] (R-MS), 2026-07-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2026-07-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2026-07-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME), 2026-07-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] (D-WI), 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Easier drug exceptions for employer plans: benefit, medium. If enacted, this bill would require employer group health plans that use step therapy to offer a clear, prompt exceptions process. You or your prescriber could ask to skip a required step when prior drugs failed, a delay could cause serious or irreversible harm, there is a contraindication or likel… ## Related bills - 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas. - 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona. - 119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham, a Senator from the State of South Carolina. - 119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former Senator for the State of Michigan. - 119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for the State of California. - 119-sres-723: A resolution honoring the life of Dirk Arthur Kempthorne, former United States Senator for the State of Idaho. ## Sources - [119-s-2903 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2903) ## Related - [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913) - [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897) - [119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham,…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-801) - [119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former S…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-755) - [119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-739) - [119-sres-723: A resolution honoring the life of Dirk Arthur Kempthorne, former United States…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-723) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2903 (as of 2026-09-27).