Congress moves to set drug prices directly—bypassing negotiation.
H.R. 9040 — Regulate the Price of All Drugs Act · Filed by Brad Sherman (D-CA) · Introduced May 26, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates a federal Prescription Drug Price Regulatory Commission that will recommend 'fair prices' for all approved prescription drugs, which the Secretary of HHS will then publish and enforce. Manufacturers must sell drugs at or below these government-set prices to patients, pharmacies, hospitals, and providers, or face civil penalties of up to 10 times the overcharge amount. The bill also grants the government march-in rights to patent licenses and Defense Production Act authority if supply is inadequate.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is direct government price-setting for all approved prescription drugs, enforced through civil penalties and private litigation. This is fundamentally a price-control regime, not a negotiation framework or transparency measure.
What the text implies
- The bill grants the President Defense Production Act authority to compel domestic drug manufacturing if foreign supply is deemed unreliable—a significant expansion of executive power over pharmaceutical production that could affect supply chains globally.
- March-in rights (Section 5) allow the Secretary to claim patent licenses if prices exceed the fair price or supply is inadequate. This effectively subordinates patent rights to price-control policy, potentially discouraging innovation investment.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
patients and consumers (lower out-of-pocket drug costs); state governments (enforcement authority, potential cost savings in Medicaid); generic drug manufacturers (potential competitive advantage if branded drugs are price-capped)