Bill lets doctors sell drugs to Medicare patients for five years.

What it does

The bill changes a rule that stops doctors from making money on patient referrals. From January 2026 through December 2030, doctors can sell certain drugs to Medicare patients. Patients must see the doctor at least once in the past year. The GAO will study if this changes how doctors pick drugs.

Who it affects

Doctors and medical practices can now make money from selling drugs. Medicare patients may pay more if doctors pick drugs with higher profit margins. Other pharmacies may lose sales.

One thing to notice

The rule ends after five years. This may push doctors to start drug sales fast. The study happens after the five years end. Problems cannot be fixed while the rule is in place.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

26 cosponsors: 16 Republicans, 10 Democrats.

• Mar 31, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 31, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means and House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a…”
• Apr 29, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Apr 29, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 38 - 7”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

12 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 16 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $3,254,300 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 6 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 93% of bills with any report.

Diana Harshbarger, who sponsored the bill, received $700,520 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Mckesson Corporation & Affiliates U.S. Oncology and Rx Savings Solutions — $1,710,000 in 2 reports
• Community Oncology Alliance — $534,300 in 2 reports
• National Association of Chain Drug Stores — $290,000 in 1 report
• Association for Clinical Oncology — $120,000 in 1 report
• Mckesson Corpation and Its Affiliate Us Oncology (formerly Us Oncology) — $120,000 in 2 reports

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• GAO — The Government Accountability Office, which studies how government programs work.
• Medicare — A health insurance program for people age 65 and older.
• referrals — When a doctor sends a patient to another service or provider.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.