# 119-s-475: Alternatives to PAIN Act

119-s-475, Alternatives to PAIN Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-NC); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-05-22).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-475
- As of: 2026-05-22
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-475
- Congress: 119
- Title: Alternatives to PAIN Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-06
- Sponsor: Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-NC)
- Cosponsors: 36
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-05-22

## Summary

**Expand access to non‑opioid pain drugs in Medicare Part D**. The bill would remove deductibles, force these drugs onto the lowest cost‑sharing tier, and ban prior authorization and step therapy for qualifying drugs.

## Cosponsors (36)

- Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] (R-WV), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL] (R-AL), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] (D-NH), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] (R-TX), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS] (R-KS), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] (R-MT), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS] (R-MS), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] (R-AR), 2025-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warnock, Raphael G. [D-GA] (D-GA), 2025-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Justice, James C. [R-WV] (R-WV), 2025-03-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-03-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] (R-LA), 2025-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] (D-NV), 2025-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN] (R-TN), 2025-04-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2025-04-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME), 2025-06-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Ossoff, Jon [D-GA] (D-GA), 2025-06-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-10-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sheehy, Tim [R-MT] (R-MT), 2025-10-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] (R-NE), 2025-11-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-12-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2026-02-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Husted, Jon [R-OH] (R-OH), 2026-02-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL), 2026-03-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS] (R-KS), 2026-03-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. McCormick, David [R-PA] (R-PA), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Medicare drug access for non-opioids: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would change Medicare Part D rules for certain non-opioid pain drugs. For plan years starting January 1, 2026, the Part D deductible would not apply to qualifying drugs. Qualifying drugs would be put on a plan's lowest cost-sharing tier when the plan has tiers. Plans could not…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 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.

## Sources
- [119-s-475 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/475)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [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)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-475 (as of 2026-05-22).