The FTC released a long interim staff report, without policy recommendations, in July. The new bill would require the FTC to provide recommendations about how to increase transparency and competition in the prescription drug sector.

Related: Senate introduces bipartisan PBM oversight bill that 'prioritizes patients over profits'

The Senate Judiciary Committee is the only committee with jurisdiction over the bill. The lead sponsor is Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the committee. The bill has six Republican co-sponsors and five Democratic co-sponsors.

Some analysts had suggested that the administration of President Donald Trump might ease scrutiny of prescription drug sector players, but early indications are that the administration could take an active approach to antitrust regulation in the prescription drug sector and other health care sectors.

The U.S. Justice Department recently set up an Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force that's asking the public for suggestions about regulations or regulatory actions that might be limiting competition in the health care sector, and the department has filed a "statement of interest" indicating that the administration of President Donald Trump supports the doctors and hospitals that are suing health insurers and a network management firm over how the defendants set reimbursement levels for out-of-network care.

For employers and their benefits advisors, an aggressive federal antitrust approach could help by making pharmaceutical manufacturers and PBMs give employers more information and requiring PBMs to pass more of any savings they win on to employer plans.

But antitrust enforcement could also hurt employers if regulators end up weakening or eliminating mechanisms that have helped to reduce what employers pay doctors and hospitals.