Bill
SB 1906
Establishes a temporary task force to study bulk drug purchasing and negotiating strategies to lower Illinois prescription drug costs, with a final report by mid-2026.
Status & Sponsors
- Introduced Feb. 6, 2025 (Sen. Mike Simmons). Chief co‑sponsor: Sen. Graciela Guzmán.
- Companion: HB 4339.
- Procedural notes: bill filed and read in February 2025; referred to committee assignments. (Materials provided also include an unrelated Florida SB 1906 concerning a debt reduction program — this summary covers the Illinois Prescription Drug Purchasing Task Force bill.)
Purpose
- Establish a temporary Prescription Drug Purchasing Task Force to study multistate prescription drug purchasing pools and other bulk‑purchasing or negotiation strategies to increase Illinois’s bargaining power and reduce prescription drug costs for patients (including potential Medicaid savings).
Key provisions
- Creation and placement: The Task Force is created within the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), which must provide administrative and other support.
- Membership (12 total):
- Four gubernatorial appointees (one licensed physician, one pharmacist, one clinical representative from a statewide hospital organization, one member of the general public).
- One appointment each by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House.
- One appointment each by the Minority Leaders of the Senate and House.
- Ex officio (or designee) members: Director of Public Health; Director of Central Management Services; Director of HFS; Director of Insurance.
- Terms and organization:
- Members serve 2‑year terms.
- Appointments must be made within 30 days of the Act’s effective date.
- The Task Force may elect a chair and other officers by majority vote.
- No compensation for members; members are prohibited from having any financial association with or fiduciary interest in any pharmaceutical company.
- Duties (required study and recommendations):
- Identify a plan for bulk purchasing prescription drugs and survey what other states are doing.
- Recommend negotiation approaches with wholesalers and manufacturers (including implications for Medicaid pricing).
- Evaluate and recommend whether Illinois should join an existing interstate bulk‑purchasing pool.
- Identify high‑cost, high‑demand drugs in Illinois and compare price ranges with other states.
- Reporting and sunset:
- Report due to the Governor and General Assembly by July 31, 2026.
- The Task Force is abolished and the Act is repealed on January 1, 2027.
Who is affected / potential impact
- Direct: HFS (administrative support), state health program managers, and state procurement/management agencies involved in purchasing.
- Indirect: Medicaid beneficiaries, private patients, hospitals, pharmacies, insurers, drug wholesalers, and manufacturers.
- Potential outcomes: Policy recommendations that could enable bulk purchasing or interstate pooling, strengthen negotiating leverage, and identify legislative or administrative steps to lower drug prices. The bill itself does not authorize procurement changes or funding — it is a study and reporting mechanism.
Fiscal note
- No specific funding or appropriation is included; HFS provides administrative support (likely absorbed within existing resources unless otherwise appropriated).
Timeline
- Membership appointed within 30 days of enactment.
- Final report by July 31, 2026.
- Task Force abolished Jan. 1, 2027.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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