Congressman Mfume, Senator Alsobrooks Introduce Affordable Inhalers and Nebulizers Act ... the legislation will reduce the price of asthma medications and therapies used to treat asthma and lung disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Support legislation to reduce the price of asthma medications and therapies used to treat asthma and lung disorders such as COPD, including affordable inhalers and nebulizers.
Occurrences
H.R.5278 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Affordable Inhalers and Nebulizers Act of 2025
Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen (Both D-Md.) and Congressman Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.-07) introduced the Affordable Inhalers and Nebulizers Act, which would allow Americans and their families to be able to afford vital medications. More specifically, the legislation will reduce the price of asthma medications and therapies used to treat asthma and lung disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Evidence
Congressman Mfume, Senator Alsobrooks Introduce Affordable Inhalers and Nebulizers Act ... More specifically, the legislation will reduce the price of asthma medications and therapies used to treat asthma and lung disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Sponsor: Rep. Mfume, Kweisi [D-MD-7] (Introduced 09/10/2025) ... This bill has the status Introduced ... To amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to reduce patient cost sharing for prescription drug inhaler products used to treat breathing disorders such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and for other purposes.
The legislation will reduce the price of asthma medications and therapies used to treat asthma and lung disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Congress.gov lists Rep. Kweisi Mfume as sponsor of H.R. 5278 and shows the bill was introduced and referred to House committees on 2025-09-10, with the tracker still showing status Introduced.
Congress.gov lists Rep. Kweisi Mfume as the sponsor of H.R. 5278 and shows the bill's latest action as a House referral on 2025-09-10; the measure still has status Introduced.
Mfume's House press release says he and Senator Alsobrooks introduced the Affordable Inhalers and Nebulizers Act to make vital medications affordable; it says the legislation would reduce prices for asthma medications and therapies for asthma and COPD. It also describes $15 monthly caps for inhalers and nebulizers across Medicare and private coverage.
Congress.gov lists H.R.5278 as sponsored by Rep. Kweisi Mfume, introduced September 10, 2025, with latest House action referral to Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and Workforce. The tracker states: "This bill has the status Introduced."
The introduced House bill text says H.R.5278 would reduce patient cost sharing for prescription inhaler products used for asthma and COPD. It defines specified inhaler products to include inhalation drugs and equipment such as spacers, nebulizers, masks, tubing, and valve-holding chambers, with cost sharing generally capped at $15 per 30-day supply.
Congress.gov's action history for H.R.5278 shows four House actions, all on September 10, 2025: introduction and referrals to House committees. It shows no House passage, Senate passage, presidential action, or public law step.
Congress.gov lists S.2756, the Senate companion Affordable Inhalers and Nebulizers Act of 2025, as introduced by Senator Angela Alsobrooks on September 10, 2025. Its latest action was referral to the Senate Finance Committee, and its tracker also shows introduced status.
Senator Alsobrooks's official release says Alsobrooks, Van Hollen, and Mfume introduced the Affordable Inhalers and Nebulizers Act to make medications affordable and reduce prices for asthma and COPD treatments. Mfume is quoted describing constituents who struggle to afford asthma or COPD medications and therapies.
Assessments
Mfume materially supported the promised policy by sponsoring H.R. 5278, the Affordable Inhalers and Nebulizers Act of 2025, which closely matches the promise by seeking to cap cost sharing for asthma and COPD inhalers, nebulizers, and related therapies. However, the federal legislative outcome has not been delivered: Congress.gov shows the bill and Senate companion remained at the introduced/referral stage, with no House passage, Senate passage, presidential action, or public law. Under the campaign-promise rubric, this is a serious same-term legislative attempt but not fulfillment of the price-reduction outcome.
Mfume publicly sponsored and introduced the Affordable Inhalers and Nebulizers Act in Congress, which matches the promise to support legislation aimed at lowering asthma and COPD treatment costs. But the bill remained at the introduced stage and did not become law or reduce prices, so the promised outcome was not delivered despite a real legislative effort.
Mfume fulfilled the promise as framed: he promised to support legislation, and in the same federal House term he sponsored H.R. 5278, the Affordable Inhalers and Nebulizers Act of 2025, aimed at lowering patient cost sharing for inhalers, nebulizers, and treatments for asthma and COPD. The bill had not been enacted in the evidence provided, so this is not proof that medication prices were reduced, but enactment was not the core promised action; supporting and advancing such legislation was.
Mfume fulfilled the promise as framed because it was a commitment to support legislation, not necessarily to secure enactment. The evidence shows he sponsored/introduced H.R. 5278, the Affordable Inhalers and Nebulizers Act of 2025, during the same term, and the bill directly targets reduced patient costs for inhalers, nebulizers, asthma medications, and COPD-related therapies. The bill had not become law in the provided evidence, but legislative support itself was the promised action.