Safe Step Act

The Safe Step Act would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require group health plans and health insurers to establish a clear, prompt, and transparent exceptions process for medication step therapy protocols, allowing patients or their prescribers to request coverage for a non-preferred drug when certain clinical criteria are met. The bill sets specific timelines for reviewing exception requests—including 72-hour standard responses and 24-hour expedited reviews in urgent cases—and mandates annual reporting to the Secretary of Labor and Congress on exception requests, approvals, denials, and related data. It applies to plan years beginning at least six months after…

No official summary is available here. This one was written by AI from the bill’s text.