Sec. 403. Insulin resource center and hotline for uninsured individuals
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The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the Secretary ) shall award a grant to an eligible entity for purposes of— establishing and maintaining a resource center of assistance programs offered by manufactures or other entities that are available to uninsured individuals seeking affordable insulin; and conducting the public education activities described in subsection (c)(7). To be eligible to receive the grant under subsection (a), an entity shall— be a trade, industry, or professional association, community- and consumer-focused nonprofit entity, or other entity, as determined by the Secretary that— is capable of carrying out the duties described in subsection (c); meets the standards described in subsection (e); and provides information consistent with the standards developed under subsection (f); and submit an application to the Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including information demonstrating that the entity— has existing relationships, or could readily establish relationships, with consumers (including uninsured individuals), health care providers, manufacturers of insulin, social service providers, pharmacies, and other experts that the Secretary determines appropriate, to meet the goals of this section; and has, or will establish, partnerships with, and solicit feedback from, other entities in other industries, professional associations, and community- and consumer-focused nonprofit organizations, to meet the goals of this section.
An entity that receives a grant under this section shall— distribute fair and impartial information concerning eligibility for manufacturer, foundational, and other assistance programs available to patients seeking affordable insulin; facilitate enrollment in manufacturer assistance programs or other assistance programs for uninsured individuals; make available to the public, through a standardized website, a clearinghouse of support available to patients, including— a link to Federally qualified health centers and other providers, by ZIP Code; a link to retail community pharmacies, by ZIP Code; and information about how to enroll in health insurance; provide information in a manner that is culturally and linguistically appropriate; establish a hotline through which individuals may reach experts with questions about access to insulin, and that— is a 24/7 real-time hotline; provides voice and text support; and is staffed by navigators or licensed health care professionals; provide guidance to hospitals on how to share the website and hotline with patients; and conduct public education activities, in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services, to raise awareness of the availability of all manufacturer, foundational, and other assistance programs available to patients seeking affordable insulin, with a focus on uninsured individuals; including by— partnering with community health centers, hospitals, retail community pharmacies, and community-based organizations with a focus on access to affordable medicine; and working with State and local health departments to target the programs carried out using the grant to underserved communities.
The Secretary shall— ensure adequate maintenance of the resource center established by the entity receiving a grant under subsection (a); publicize such resource center on the website of the Department of Health and Human Services and across Federal agencies, as the Secretary determines appropriate; and ensure that such resource center meets the standards under subsection (e), and withdraw the grant and make an award to a different eligible entity in the case that an eligible entity fails to meet such standards.
The Secretary shall establish standards for the resource center under this section, including provisions to ensure that the entity receiving a grant under this section is qualified to engage in the activities described in this section and to avoid conflicts of interest. Under such standards, such entity— shall not— be a manufacturer of insulin products; or receive any consideration directly or indirectly from any manufacturer of insulin products in connection with the enrollment of any individuals in an assistance program; and shall provide information that is fair, accurate, and impartial.
The Secretary may collect data and conduct evaluations with respect to the services provided by the resource center described in this section for purposes of assessing the extent to which the provision of the services— reduces out of pocket insulin costs for uninsured individuals; increases awareness of assistance programs or foundational support available for uninsured individuals; and improves utilization of the resources described in paragraph
(2)by uninsured individuals. The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and make publicly available, annual reports on the activities carried out under this section, including any changes in the availability or scope of assistance programs offered by insulin manufacturers and information about the number of individuals who use the resource center, including the website or hotline. In this section— the term assistance program means a program to assist patients in obtaining a drug at a reduced cost, and includes third-party payments, financial assistance, discounts, product vouchers, and other reductions in out-of-pocket expenses; the term Federally-qualified health center has the meaning given such term in section 1905(l)(2) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1396d(l)(2) ); the term insulin means insulin that is licensed under subsection
(a)or
(k)of section 351 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 262 ) and continues to be marketed pursuant to such licensure; the term retail community pharmacy has the meaning given such term in section 1927(k)(10) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1396r–8(k)(10) ); and the term uninsured individual means an individual who— does not qualify for coverage under a Federal health care program (as defined in section 1128B(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7b(f))), the health program established under chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code, or a group health plan or group health insurance coverage (as defined in section 2791 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300gg–91 )); and is not entitled to a premium assistance tax credit under section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2032.
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- 42 USC 1396r–8(k)(10)
- 42 USC 1320a–7b(f)
- 42 USC 300gg–91
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Sec. 403
Insulin resource center and hotline for uninsured individuals
Cite42 USC 1396r–8(k)(10)
Cite42 USC 1320a–7b(f)
Cite42 USC 300gg–91
Cites 5Cited by 0 across 0 sources