Each drug pricing policy proposal since 2015 is categorized based on its intended impact to the US drug pricing landscape (“purported intent”) and the mechanism by which it plans to make that impact happen (“mechanism”). After a comprehensive thematic analysis of over 300 policy proposals, DPL established seven “purported intent” categories and 44 “mechanisms”. The combination of purported intent and mechanism themes is meant to provide insight into how each policy proposal seeks to address US drug pricing issues and collectively which areas policies focus on.
What is the Policy Tracker?
The Policy Tracker tracks all federal policy proposals targeting the US drug pricing system since 2015. It includes proposals from congressional legislation as well as executive orders and rules issued by federal agencies.
How is the Policy Tracker Tool organized?
The individual elements of each proposal are catalogued according to the “purported policy intent”, “policy mechanism”, and “source”. The “purported policy intent” reflects the primary aim of the proposal and falls into one of seven categories: accountability and oversight, incentivizing innovation, fostering competition, reducing costs and improving access for patients, reducing costs for government health programs, increasing price awareness throughout the supply chain, and limiting price inflation. Key themes across the catalogued elements are further classified by the specific mechanism that is proposed (i.e., “Mechanism”).
The “source” links to the proposal sponsor. Legislation that is introduced in both the House and the Senate is cited to the version introduced first, unless the differences between the two require separate citations.
How is the Policy Tracker updated?
Updates are made on a quarterly basis.
Where can I find an archive of drug pricing policies?
An archive of federal policy proposals targeting the US drug pricing system which were introduced in between January 3rd, 2015 – June 30th, 2023 can be found here:
118th Congress – Q2 2023 (includes bills from 3/30/2023 that were missed in Q1’s update)
Missing something?
Please email info@drugpricinglab.org.