My Main Street Pharmacy Access Act allows Medicare to reimburse pharmacists for testing and treating common respiratory illnesses.
expand Medicare access to pharmacy-based testing and treatment for common respiratory illnesses
Occurrences
Evidence
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The substitute text states that the Act may be cited as the “Main Street Pharmacy Access Act” and would add pharmacist services to Medicare Part B, including medical visits for testing or treatment of COVID-19, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, or streptococcal pharyngitis.
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The Ways and Means Committee posted a markup notice for H.R. 3164, the “Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act,” with a markup date of May 21, 2026.
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The press release says Smith’s legislation passed out of the Ways and Means Committee and that the Main Street Pharmacy Access Act would allow Medicare Part B reimbursement for testing and treating common respiratory illnesses; it also says the bill now awaits House floor consideration.
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GovInfo identifies H.R. 3164 as the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act, introduced by Mr. Smith of Nebraska and referred to committee.
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Congress.gov still identifies H.R. 3164 as Rep. Adrian Smith's bill, shows the latest action as the May 1, 2025 referral to committee, and lists the bill status as Introduced with no enacted status.
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Smith's office said the pharmacy-access bill cleared the Ways and Means Committee and would let Medicare Part B reimburse pharmacy-based testing and treatment for common respiratory illnesses, but the measure still awaited House floor consideration.
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Congress.gov lists H.R. 3164, sponsored by Rep. Adrian Smith, with status Introduced and only three all-actions entries, all dated May 1, 2025; it does not show House passage, Senate passage, presentation to the President, or enactment.
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The Ways and Means markup page says H.R. 3164, renamed the Main Street Pharmacy Access Act, was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives as amended by an amendment in the nature of a substitute by voice vote.
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The substitute text says the act may be cited as the Main Street Pharmacy Access Act and would add Medicare Part B coverage for pharmacist services, including medical visits for testing or treatment of COVID-19, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, or streptococcal pharyngitis.
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The Ways and Means green sheet explains that the substitute renamed the bill the Main Street Pharmacy Access Act and changed the covered services language to medical visits for testing or treatment of individuals for COVID-19, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, or streptococcal pharyngitis.
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The House schedule page states there is no legislative activity available at this time and shows the September 2026 House calendar; it does not show any H.R. 3164 floor action in the September 7-9 lookback window.
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Smith's office said he was urging colleagues to pass the Main Street Pharmacy Access Act; the release says Medicare does not cover pharmacist-provided testing and treatment for common respiratory illnesses, while his bill would allow Medicare reimbursement for those services where state law permits them.
Assessments
Smith sponsored and advanced H.R. 3164/Main Street Pharmacy Access Act, which matched the promise by seeking Medicare Part B reimbursement for pharmacist-provided testing and treatment of common respiratory illnesses. The bill cleared the House Ways and Means Committee in May 2026, but the evidence shows it had not received House floor passage, Senate passage, presidential signature, or enactment by the adjudication date. That is a serious same-term legislative effort, but the promised Medicare access expansion was not delivered.
Smith sponsored and advanced legislation matching the promised Medicare pharmacy-based testing and treatment expansion, including committee markup and favorable Ways and Means action. However, the policy has not been enacted, Congress.gov still shows H.R. 3164 at the introduced stage with no House passage, Senate passage, presidential signature, or law status, so Medicare access has not actually been expanded. This is a serious legislative attempt but not delivery of the promised outcome.
Smith advanced the policy by getting his pharmacy-access legislation through Ways and Means committee markup, and the bill text matches the promise to expand Medicare Part B access for pharmacy-based testing and treatment of common respiratory illnesses. But the evidence shows it still awaited House floor action and was not enacted, so the promise was not fully delivered.
Smith clearly acted on the promise by introducing and advancing legislation to expand Medicare Part B coverage for pharmacy-based testing and treatment of common respiratory illnesses. The bill text matches the promised policy, and the measure passed the Ways and Means Committee. However, the evidence indicates it was still awaiting House floor consideration and had not been enacted into law, so the promised outcome was not fully delivered. Because he made a serious legislative effort and achieved meaningful progress short of enactment, this merits partial credit in the same term.