Bill · S. 4440· Senate(119-S-4440)
Clinical Trial Modernization Act
- Introduced
- 4/29/2026
- Last activity
- 4/29/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Sponsored by
- Tim Scott
- Cosponsors
- - 0 - 1
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Clinical Trial Modernization Act aims to modernize clinical trials and remove participation barriers. It authorizes grants and contracts to support community education, outreach, and recruitment for underrepresented populations. The bill allows for the remuneration of trial expenses like travel and meals, as well as the free provision of necessary digital health technologies. It also permits drug or device manufacturers to pay for a participant's cost-sharing obligations without violating certain laws. Additionally, the act excludes up to $2,000 of payments received from approved clinical trials from an individual's gross income.
Yes· 3 of 7
Does this make health care easier to get in general?+5
The bill removes financial barriers to clinical trial participation through expense reimbursement and cost-saring support.
Would households on low incomes be better off under this?+4
The bill allows for the coverage of trial-related expenses like travel and meals to reduce participation barriers.
Would people in rural areas be better off under this?+4
The bill specifically mentions facilitating inclusion of patients from rural geographies through expense coverage and outreach.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Increased Outreach and Education: The Secretary can issue grants to support community education and recruitment for diseases that disproportionally impact underrepresented populations (Section 3(a)).
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Diversity in Healthcare Personnel: Grants can be used to train health care personnel to increase the number of underrepresented populations serving as clinical trial investigators (Section 3(a)(2)).
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Financial Support for Expenses: The bill allows for the payment of expenses incurred during a trial, such as travel, transportation, and meal expenses, to help include patients from various demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds (Section 4(a)).
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Access to Technology: Individuals can receive digital health technologies for free if they are necessary for participation in a trial and intended to facilitate the participation of underrepresented populations (Section 4(a)).
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Reduced Financial Barriers to Participation: Manufacturers may pay for patient cost-sharing obligations to facilitate enrollment or reduce the likelihood of people leaving a trial (Section 5).
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Tax Benefits for Participants: Payments received by an individual from participation in an approved clinical trial, up to $2,000, are excluded from gross income (Section 6(a)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Restrictions on Financial Assistance: A patient receiving cost-sharing assistance from a sponsor must agree not to accept other financial assistance to cover those same obligations (Section 5(6)).
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Capped Enrollment: To prevent improper costs or utilization, the total enrollment for a trial under the cost-sharing provision must be capped (Section 5(8)(D)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Low Income Households+4Good For Rural Residents+4Good For African Americans+3Good For Hispanic Americans+3
- Healthcare
- Improves Healthcare Access+5
- Social Issues And Justice
- Improves Racial Equity+4
- Economy And Finance
- Reduces Middle Class Taxes+2
- 4/29/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Mark WarnerDemocrat · Virginia