Congressional Bills Aim to Tackle Drug and Healthcare Provider Shortages in 2026

As of early 2026, more than 287 drugs are in short supply across the U.S., with nearly half of them being critical medications for heart attacks, cancer, and severe infections. Hospitals are rationing doses. Pharmacies are calling multiple suppliers just to fill one prescription. And patients are being forced to wait weeks-or go without-for life-saving treatments. This isn’t a temporary glitch. It’s a systemic failure that Congress is finally trying to fix-with two new bills, but they’re stuck in limbo.

What’s Actually in the Proposed Laws?

The two main bills targeting this crisis are the Drug Shortage Prevention Act of 2025 (S.2665) and the Health Care Provider Shortage Minimization Act of 2025 (H.R.1160). They don’t sound flashy, but their goals are urgent.

S.2665, introduced by Senator Amy Klobuchar, requires drug manufacturers to notify the FDA the moment they see a spike in demand for critical medicines. Right now, companies can wait until they’re already running out to report issues. By then, it’s too late. This bill would force early warnings-like a smoke alarm for drug supply chains. The idea isn’t new. The FDA already tracks shortages, but without mandatory, timely reporting, the system is blind until it’s already on fire.

H.R.1160 is less clear. Public records only list the title. No sponsor details. No committee assignment. No text. That’s not a typo. As of November 2025, the full bill hasn’t been released. Experts believe it’s meant to tackle the other half of the crisis: not just missing drugs, but missing doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. The U.S. is projected to fall short by 124,000 physicians by 2034. Rural hospitals are closing. Emergency rooms are understaffed. If H.R.1160 aims to expand training, loan forgiveness, or visa programs for providers, it could be just as important as S.2665. But without details, no one can evaluate it.

Why Are These Bills Stuck?

The biggest reason? The longest government shutdown in U.S. history. It started October 1, 2025, and by mid-November, 800,000 federal workers-including nearly every FDA employee responsible for monitoring drug supplies-were sent home. The Drug Shortage Portal, the FDA’s main tracking tool, stopped updating. Inspections halted. Approval processes froze.

Even if Congress passed S.2665 tomorrow, it couldn’t be enforced. The FDA doesn’t have staff to review notifications, investigate delays, or penalize companies that ignore the rules. The bill needs $45 million a year just to run the system. But with the federal deficit at $1.74 trillion and lawmakers debating whether to cut foreign aid or public media funding, healthcare infrastructure isn’t even on the table.

The continuing resolution proposed by Senate Republicans in November 2025 would keep the government open until January 30, 2026-but it doesn’t mention drugs, providers, or shortages once. Congressman Don Beyer called it a “missed opportunity.” Meanwhile, House Republicans are focused on voting to let senators sue over phone records. Not a single word about the 98% of hospitals reporting critical drug shortages in the third quarter of 2025.

Who’s Affected-and How Bad Is It?

The numbers don’t lie. In Q3 2025, 98% of U.S. hospitals reported at least one critical drug shortage. That’s not a few pills missing. That’s chemotherapy drugs, antibiotics for sepsis, insulin for diabetics, and anesthetics for surgery. One hospital in Ohio had to delay 12 cancer treatments because the chemo drug was out of stock. A pediatric ER in Texas used a less effective substitute for antibiotics, leading to longer hospital stays.

And it’s not just drugs. Over 122 million Americans live in areas with a shortage of primary care providers. That’s more than the population of California. In rural states like West Virginia or Montana, patients drive 90 minutes just to see a doctor who may not have the right meds on hand anyway.

Surveys show 87% of physicians have had to change a patient’s treatment plan because a drug wasn’t available. And here’s the kicker: only 12% of them even knew H.R.1160 existed. The public doesn’t know about these bills because Congress hasn’t told them. The media barely covers it. The pharmaceutical industry hasn’t rallied behind S.2665-not because they oppose it, but because they’re already overwhelmed.

What’s Causing the Shortages?

Manufacturing delays are behind 63% of current drug shortages, according to the Association for Accessible Medicines. Most of these are generic drugs-cheap, old, but essential. They’re made overseas, often in just one or two factories. If one plant has a quality issue, a nationwide shortage follows. The FDA can’t inspect these facilities fast enough, and there’s no backup supply chain.

Then there’s profit. Generic drug makers have little incentive to produce low-margin medications. When demand spikes-like during a flu outbreak or a new clinical guideline-they don’t ramp up production. They wait. And by the time they do, it takes months to scale up. That’s why S.2665’s early notification rule matters. It’s meant to give them time to prepare.

Meanwhile, the supply chain is brittle. A single container ship delay, a power outage in India, or a labor strike in China can ripple across U.S. pharmacies. And there’s no federal plan to stockpile critical drugs. The Strategic National Stockpile holds emergency supplies for bioterrorism or pandemics-but not for routine drug shortages.

What Happens If Nothing Changes?

If S.2665 and H.R.1160 die in committee-likely, given the shutdown and lack of political will-the consequences will be worse next year. The FDA expects 300+ drug shortages by the end of 2026. More hospitals will turn to expensive alternatives. Insurance premiums will rise. Patients will die.

And the cycle will repeat. Manufacturers will keep cutting corners. The FDA will keep falling behind. Congress will keep ignoring it until another crisis hits. We’ve seen this before: in 2011, 2016, 2020. Each time, lawmakers promise action. Each time, they walk away without fixing the root causes.

The difference now? The numbers are worse. The shutdown has exposed how fragile our healthcare infrastructure is. And the public is starting to notice. Reddit threads about drug shortages have over 140 upvotes. Medical associations are sounding alarms. But without a functioning government, there’s no one to listen.

What Can You Do?

You can’t vote on S.2665 or H.R.1160 right now. But you can demand action. Call your representative. Ask them: “What are you doing about drug shortages?” Send an email to your senators. Share stories from your own experience-how you waited for a prescription, how your parent missed a treatment, how your clinic ran out of a common antibiotic.

Pressure works. In 2019, public outcry forced Congress to pass a law requiring manufacturers to report shortages six months in advance. That law was weak, but it was a start. This time, we need stronger rules. We need funding. We need transparency.

Don’t wait for Congress to act because it’s the right thing to do. Make them act because they’re scared of what happens if they don’t.