Bloomington-Normal's Rep. Sorensen Revives Big Pharma Bill Aimed at Lowering Drug Prices

U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen is bringing back a federal bill he says will stop pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheaper generic drugs from reaching patients in Bloomington-Normal and across his district.

The Stop Games Act, first introduced by Sorensen three years ago, seeks to scrutinize petitions submitted to the Food and Drug Administration that delay generic drug approvals. Sorensen said many of those petitions come from brand-name drug manufacturers looking to protect their market share.

"They game the system so that they block competition, they keep generics off the market and then they keep their stock price high so that the profits are high," Sorensen said during a virtual press conference on Monday.

A bill that fizzled, now resurfacing

Sorensen originally introduced the Stop Games Act in 2023. The proposal stalled in committee and never advanced. Now he is trying again, this time with bipartisan support.

Republican Rep. Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma has cosponsored the revived effort, according to Northern Public Radio.

Sorensen said the bill would remove unnecessary delays that keep FDA-approved generic drugs off pharmacy shelves. He also noted that faster generic access would help keep prices competitive with compounded alternatives, which can offer lower-cost medications but are not regulated by the FDA.

Constituents say drug costs are unbearable

Sorensen told reporters he has heard directly from constituents in his district who are rationing pills or delaying prescription refills because they cannot afford them.

"The shocking truth is more people than ever before are having to walk out of the pharmacy because they can't [afford] what is in the orange bottle in that white bag," Sorensen said.

"No one should have to choose between paying for your medicine or paying your rent, or your utility bill, or your groceries," he added.

Sorensen's congressional district covers parts of Bloomington-Normal, Greater Peoria, the Quad Cities, and Rockford.

A parallel fight in Springfield

While Sorensen pushes his federal bill, a separate drug pricing battle is underway in the Illinois General Assembly.

House Bill 2371, awaiting a final vote in the Illinois House, would expand access to the 340B Drug Pricing Program for safety-net hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and Ryan White AIDS clinics. The bill would prohibit drug manufacturers from restricting where those providers can purchase discounted medications through contract pharmacies.

The proposal has drawn intense lobbying from both sides. A May 12 memo from the Department of Central Management Services estimated that expanding the 340B program could cost Illinois employers an additional $89 million per year. The state's own employee health plan could face $12.4 million in additional costs annually, according to the memo.

Cyrus Winnett, executive director of the Illinois Primary Health Care Association, told NPR Illinois that drug manufacturers have limited clinics to purchasing 340B-discounted drugs at a single physical location. He said that restriction severely limits access for clinics serving wide geographic areas.

"What pharmaceutical manufacturers began doing was limiting the distribution of these drugs to a single location," Winnett said. "And when I say single location, I don't mean Walgreens chain or CVS or a local independent. I mean one physical location, which for our organizations and their patients that have wide service areas, that's extremely limiting."

What happens next

Sorensen's Stop Games Act must now navigate the full congressional process. Whether it clears committee remains to be seen. The Illinois House vote on HB 2371 has not yet been scheduled.

For Bloomington-Normal residents paying out of pocket for prescriptions, both measures represent potential relief. Both also face steep political headwinds from an industry that spends hundreds of millions on lobbying each year.