Lawmakers are attempting to make “generic means cheaper” actually mean something again. James Lankford has teamed up with Maggie Hassan to introduce the Ensuring Access to Lower-Cost Medicines for Seniors Act. The bipartisan effort aims to fix a system where seniors somehow end up paying more for generic drugs than brand-name versions. The bill targets pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, the behind-the-scenes middlemen who’ve turned drug pricing into a confusing shell game.

The legislation would require Medicare Part D plans to actually cover the cheaper option when it is, in fact, cheaper. Revolutionary concept. It also sets up distinct pricing tiers so low-cost generics and biosimilars don’t get lumped in with higher-priced brand-name drugs. In theory, this means seniors would pay less out of pocket, competition would increase, and the market might start behaving like, well, a market. There’s even a new category for specialty generics and biosimilars. Congress seems to think the current system needed one more layer of organization to undo the chaos it created.

Lankford framed the bill as a needed fix, pointing out that most people assume generics should cost less, an assumption the current system has been quietly ignoring. He’s also been on a broader crusade against PBMs, pushing for transparency and accountability while urging federal agencies and Senate leadership to rein in costs and protect rural pharmacies. Whether this latest effort actually simplifies drug pricing or just adds another chapter to the ongoing saga of “why is this still so expensive” remains to be seen, but at least someone in Washington has noticed the problem.