SEPSIS Act

1) What happened: The SEPSIS Act (S.1929) was introduced in the Senate on June 3, 2025, by Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) with 6 cosponsors. It was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. An identical companion bill (HR7116) was introduced in the House and referred to the Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill is in early legislative stages and has not progressed past committee referral in over 10 months. 2) The money trail: This is an authorization bill — it does not appropriate any specific dollar amount. Section 3 of the bill directs the CDC to maintain a sepsis team for education, data collection, and best practice dissemination. No funding level is specified. Actual spending would require a separate appropriations bill, which has not been introduced. The bill's findings reference the high cost of sepsis treatment ($38 billion annually per CMS data) but do not translate this into authorized spending. 3) Structural winners and losers: If funded, diagnostic companies would benefit from increased hospital protocol adoption. BDX ($145.31) provides blood culture and rapid diagnostic platforms used in hospitals. TMO ($466.26) supplies research equipment for sepsis biomarker discovery. DGX ($189.32) and LH ($257.14) are positioned for outpatient testing volume increases. ABT ($91.33) has sepsis-related diagnostics (Alinity i, i-STAT) but is more diversified. GEHC ($59.49) provides hospital monitoring equipment that could see demand from protocol-driven sepsis management. All remain early-stage beneficiaries contingent on future appropriations. 4) Real market data context: As of April 29, 2026, all relevant stocks are trading near or at their 52-week lows. BDX at $145.31 (52wk range $127.59-$187.35) is down 6.16% in the past week. TMO at $466.26 is down 0.09% weekly but sits near its 52-week low of $385.46 — a steep drop from recent close of $526.60 on April 17. DGX at $189.32 is down 5.12% weekly and approaching its 52-week low of $164.65. ABT at $91.33 is essentially at its 52-week low of $90.72 and down 10.36% over 30 days. GEHC at $59.49 has crashed 14.88% in the past week and is at its 52-week low. The broad market sell-off in healthcare names is unrelated to the SEPSIS Act, which has not progressed. 5) Timeline: The bill is stalled. With one action (introduction and referral) occurring 10 months ago and no hearings, markups, or floor votes, passage in the 119th Congress is unlikely unless the bill gains new sponsors or committee attention. Reintroduction in the 120th Congress (2027-2029) is possible but requires restarting the legislative process.