S. 652 · 118th Congress

Requires health plans to offer exceptions to step-therapy drug rules

Official title: Safe Step Act1

Never got a floor vote

§1What it does

Why this matters: A plain-English description of the bill as it was voted on, written by us from the official summary and text.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

This bill would require employer group health plans that use step therapy, which requires patients to try certain prescription drugs in a set order before others are covered, to offer a clear process for requesting an exception.2,3 Plans would have to grant an exception if, for example, the required drug has not worked, is expected not to work and delay would cause irreversible harm, is likely to cause an adverse reaction, would keep the patient from daily activities or work, or if the patient is already stable on another drug.3 The bill also sets deadlines for plans to respond to exception requests.3

§2Status

StatusLatest action, March 2, 2023: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.1
IntroducedMarch 2, 2023
SponsorSen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK]
Cosponsors48 cosponsors (33 Democratic, 13 Republican, 2 independent)
Official recordS. 652 on Congress.gov

§3It never got a vote

Why this matters: This bill had wide support from both parties, but it never reached the House or Senate floor, so no member of Congress was ever recorded voting for or against it.

Latest action, March 2, 2023: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.1 How bills die without a vote.

2026 candidates who sponsored or cosponsored it (11)