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Senate passes Right‑to‑Try bill allowing terminal patients access to investigational treatments
Summary
The Senate passed a fifth substitute of House Bill 94, a Right‑to‑Try measure enabling terminally ill patients to access investigational drugs and devices after phase I trials, with safeguards for patients, providers, insurers and manufacturers. The bill passed second reading and was placed on the third‑reading calendar.
Senate members advanced House Bill 94 (fifth substitute), commonly called the Right‑to‑Try bill, after floor debate emphasizing patient access and multiple protections for stakeholders.
Sponsor Senator Vickers described the measure as granting terminally ill patients who have exhausted conventional options access to drugs or devices that have successfully completed phase I of FDA trials. He outlined four protections the bill creates: shielding providers from professional misconduct claims for offering authorized treatments; affirming insurers are not required to pay though they may; allowing manufacturers to consent or decline participation through a written agreement with a physician; and requiring informed‑consent documentation for patients, including notification of serious risks up to increased risk of death.
Supporters including Senator Shiozawa and Senator Escamilla said the bill contains appropriate safeguards and represents careful stakeholder negotiation. The sponsor and supporters argued the bill streamlines access compared with existing compassionate‑use pathways, which they described as onerous and slow to secure approvals.
The clerk announced the roll call: the fifth substitute to HB94 received 22 'yay' votes, 0 'nay' votes and 7 absent and was placed on the third‑reading calendar.
Next steps: HB94 is scheduled for third reading. Floor supporters said physicians and families would still need to satisfy eligibility and informed consent requirements under the bill.
