,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ehfg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #ag1 #bjah,mr4  
,doggett 7for himself and ,ms4 ,pingree7
 introduced the following bill2 which   
was referred to the ,committee on       
,energy and ,commerce  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
authorize a joint action plan and report
 on drug waste4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,reducing ,drug
 ,waste ,act of #bjah4  #b4 ,findings   
,congress finds as follows3  7#a7 ,on   
,may #bc1 #bjag1 the ,department of     
,health and ,human ,services1 acting    
through the ,office of the ,inspector   
,general in a letter to ,senators       
,klobuchar1 ,durbin1 and ,shaheen1 found
 that different vial sizes in addition  
to those currently approved and marketed
 in the ,united ,states could sometimes 
significantly reduce the amount of drug 
discards1 or waste1 from single-use     
vials4  7#b7 ,the ,office of ,inspector 
,general analyzed #bj single-use vial   
drugs with the highest amounts of       

identifiable reimbursement for discarded
 drugs during #bjac and #bjad and found 
that the ,medicare part ,b program paid 
#aa1fjj1jjj1jjj for these drugs1        
#b1ajj1jjj1jjj of which was for drugs   
billed in increments of other-than-full 
vials1 and #aie1jjj1jjj1 or nearly #aj  
percent1 of the #b1ajj1jjj1jjj billed in
 increments of other-than-full vials was
 reimbursed for discarded drugs4  7#c7  
,during the ,food and ,drug             
,administration's review process for a  
drug's safety and efficacy before a drug
 is approved for marketing in the       
,united ,states1 the ,food and ,drug    
,administration reviews the             
manufacturer's proposed vial size4  7#d7
 ,as of ,january #a1 #bjag1 the ,centers
 for ,medicare  ,medicaid ,services     
requires all physicians1 hospitals1 and 
other providers submitting claims to    
,medicare to separately identify the    
discarded amount of a drug from a       
single-use vial 7the ,,jw modifier7 on  
its claim for reimbursement by          

,medicare4 ,the new requirement does not
 change the amount the providers are    
reimbursed for single-use drugs4  #c4   
,joint action plan and report on drug   
waste  7a7 ,joint action plan ,the      
,commissioner of ,food and ,drugs1 in   
coordination with the ,administrator of 
the ,centers for ,medicare  ,medicaid   
,services1 shall develop a joint action 
plan1 in consultation with health care  
providers and patient advocates         
7including relevant ,federal advisory   
committees7 that--  7#a7 utilizes data  
from ,medicare claims on how much of a  
single-use drug was not administered1   
comparing single-use vial sizes in other
 countries1 and through analysis during 
the drug approval process of alternative
 vial size safety and efficacy1 to      
reduce drug waste and better manage     
costs2 and  7#b7 includes quantifiable  
metrics and specific timelines4  7b7    
,report ,not later than #a year after   
the date of enactment of this ,act1 the 
,commissioner of ,food and ,drugs1 in   

coordination with the ,administrator of 
the ,centers for ,medicare  ,medicaid   
,services1 shall submit to ,congress the
 joint action plan described in         
subsection 7a7 and a report containing  
recommendations for any legislative     
action needed to reduce drug waste and  
better manage costs4