Reports: Sen. David Vitter seeks to link vote on compounding bill to bid to prevent Obamacare employer contributions for lawmakers, staff

NEW YORK — Sen. David Vitter, R-La., is holding up a vote on a measure that would strengthen regulations on compounding pharmacies in order to alter a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to published reports.

Bloomberg reported that Vitter was trying to couple a vote on the compounding law with a proposal to deny lawmakers and their staffs employer contributions for health insurance purchased on the health insurance exchanges set up under ACA. Senators may have to spend a week on work that would otherwise take minutes, according to Bloomberg.

Every senator except Vitter has pledged to vote for the bill, H.R. 3204, which would subject pharmacies that engage in sterile compounding to Food and Drug Administration regulations. The FDA has sought to regulate the pharmacies since last year's outbreak of fungal meningitis linked to the New England Compounding Center, which sickened hundreds and killed dozens.