[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1942 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1942

To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to establish grant programs to 
 provide State pharmacy assistance programs and medication management 
                               programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 17, 1999

 Mr. Jeffords introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to establish grant programs to 
 provide State pharmacy assistance programs and medication management 
                               programs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pharmaceutical Aid to Older 
Americans Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO OLDER AMERICANS ACT OF 1965.

    Part B of title IV of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 
3034 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 429K. GRANTS FOR STATE PHARMACY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) Program Authorized.--The Assistant Secretary may award grants 
to States to provide and administer State pharmacy assistance programs.
    ``(b) Preference.--In awarding grants under subsection (a), the 
Assistant Secretary shall give preference to States that propose to 
develop and implement State pharmacy assistance programs, or to provide 
assistance to State pharmacy assistance programs in existence on the 
date of enactment of this section, that provide services for 
underserved populations or for populations residing in rural areas.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--A State that receives a grant under subsection 
(a) shall use funds made available through the grant to--
            ``(1) develop and implement a State pharmacy assistance 
        program, or to provide assistance to a State pharmacy 
        assistance program in existence on the date of enactment of 
        this section; and
            ``(2) prepare and submit an evaluation to the Assistant 
        Secretary on the implementation of, or provision of, or 
        assistance to a program described in paragraph (1).
    ``(d) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
subsection (a), a State shall submit to the Assistant Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Assistant Secretary may require, including--
            ``(1) a description of a State pharmacy assistance program 
        that such State plans to develop and implement, including 
        information on the anticipated number of individuals to be 
        served, eligibility criteria of individuals to be served, such 
        as the age and income level of such individuals, drugs to be 
        covered by the program, and performance measures to be used to 
        evaluate the program; or
            ``(2) a description of a State pharmacy assistance program 
        in existence on the date of enactment of this section that such 
        State plans to assist with funds received under subsection (a), 
        including information on the number of individuals served, 
        eligibility criteria of individuals served, such as the age and 
        income level of such individuals, drugs covered by the program, 
        and performance measures used to evaluate the program.
    ``(e) Minimum Amount.--In awarding grants under subsection (a), 
from the amount appropriated under subsection (l)(1) for each fiscal 
year, the Assistant Secretary shall award, to each eligible State, an 
amount that is not less than $250,000.
    ``(f) Duration of Grant.--In awarding grants under subsection (a), 
the Assistant Secretary shall award such grants for periods of 2 years.
    ``(g) Matching Requirement.--The Assistant Secretary shall not 
award a grant to a State under subsection (a) unless that State agrees 
that, with respect to the costs to be incurred by the State in carrying 
out the program for which the grant was awarded, the State will make 
available (directly or through donations from public or private 
entities) non-Federal contributions in an amount that is not less than 
30 percent of Federal funds provided under the grant.
    ``(h) Supplement Not Supplant.--Funds made available under this 
section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, any other 
Federal, State, or local funds expended by a State to provide the 
services for programs described in this section.
    ``(i) Evaluations and Report.--
            ``(1) Program evaluations.--Not later than 6 months after 
        the end of the period for which the grant is awarded under 
        subsection (a), the State shall prepare an evaluation of the 
        effectiveness of programs carried out with funds received under 
        this section. Not later than 6 months after the end of such 
        period, the State shall submit to the Assistant Secretary a 
        report containing the results of the evaluation, in such form 
        and containing such information as the Assistant Secretary may 
        require.
            ``(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 36 months after 
        the date of enactment of this section, the Assistant Secretary 
        shall prepare and submit to the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate a 
        report that describes the effectiveness of the programs carried 
        out with funds received under this section.
    ``(j) Sunset Provision.--This section shall not apply beginning on 
the date of enactment of legislation that provides comprehensive health 
care coverage for prescription drugs under the medicare program under 
title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) for all 
medicare beneficiaries.
    ``(k) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Medication management.--The term `medication 
        management program' means a program of services for older 
        individuals, including pharmacy counseling, medicine screening, 
        or patient and health care provider education programs, that--
                    ``(A) provides information and counseling on the 
                prescription drug purchases that are  currently the 
most economical, and safe and effective;
                    ``(B) provides services to minimize unnecessary or 
                inappropriate use of prescription drugs; and
                    ``(C) provides services to minimize adverse events 
                due to unintended prescription drug-to-drug 
                interactions.
            ``(2) State pharmacy assistance programs.--The term `State 
        pharmacy assistance program' means a program that provides 
        coverage for prescription drugs and medication management 
        programs for individuals who--
                    ``(A) are not less than 65 years of age;
                    ``(B) are not eligible for medical assistance under 
                title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 
                seq.);
                    ``(C) are from families with incomes at or below 
                200 percent of the poverty line; and
                    ``(D) have no coverage for prescription drugs other 
                than coverage provided by a State pharmacy assistance 
                program.
    ``(l) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
        to carry out this section, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, 
        and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2002 
        through 2005.
            ``(2) Reservation.--From the amount appropriated under 
        paragraph (1), for each fiscal year, the Assistant Secretary 
        shall reserve not less than 33.3 percent of such amount to 
        enable States to assist State pharmacy assistance programs in 
        existence on the date of enactment of this section.

``SEC. 429L. GRANTS FOR MEDICATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) Program Authorized.--The Assistant Secretary may award grants 
to State agencies to assist such agencies or area agencies on aging in 
providing and administering medication management programs.
    ``(b) Use of Funds.--A State agency or area agency on aging that 
receives funds through a grant awarded under subsection (a) shall use 
such funds to--
            ``(1) develop and implement a medication management 
        program, or to provide assistance to a medication management 
        program in existence on the date of enactment of this section; 
        and
            ``(2) prepare an evaluation on the implementation of or 
        provision of assistance to a program described in paragraph 
        (1), and, in the case of an area agency on aging, submit the 
        evaluation to the appropriate State agency.
    ``(c) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
subsection (a), a State agency shall submit to the Assistant Secretary 
an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Assistant Secretary may require.
    ``(d) Minimum Amount.--In awarding grants under subsection (a), 
from the amount appropriated under subsection (j) for each fiscal year, 
the Assistant Secretary shall award, to each eligible State agency, an 
amount that is not less than $50,000.
    ``(e) Duration of Grant.--In awarding grants under subsection (a), 
the Assistant Secretary shall award such grants for a period of 2 
years.
    ``(f) Matching Requirement.--The Assistant Secretary shall not 
award a grant to a State agency under subsection (a) unless that State 
agency agrees that, with respect to the costs to be incurred in 
carrying out programs for which the grant was awarded, the State agency 
will make available (directly or through donations from public or 
private entities) non-Federal contributions in an amount that is not 
less than 30 percent of Federal funds provided under the grant.
    ``(g) Supplement Not Supplant.--Funds made available under this 
section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, any other 
Federal, State, or local funds expended by a State agency or area 
agency on aging to provide the services for programs described in this 
section.
    ``(h) Reports.--
            ``(1) Report to assistant secretary.--Not later than 24 
        months after receipt of a grant under subsection (a), a State 
        agency shall prepare and submit to the Assistant Secretary a 
        report on the medication management programs carried out by the 
        State agency or area agencies on aging in the State in such 
        form and containing such information as the Assistant Secretary 
        may require, including an analysis of the effectiveness of the 
        programs. Such report shall in part be based on evaluations 
        submitted under subsection (b)(2).
            ``(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 36 months after 
        grants have been awarded under subsection (a), the Assistant 
        Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Speaker of the House 
        of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate 
        a report that describes the effectiveness of the programs 
        carried out with funds received under this section.
    ``(i) Medication Management Programs.--In this section, the term 
`medication management program' means a program of services for older 
individuals, including pharmacy counseling, medicine screening, or 
patient and health care provider education programs, that--
            ``(1) provides information and counseling on the 
        prescription drug purchases that are currently the most 
        economical, and safe and effective;
            ``(2) provides services to minimize unnecessary or 
        inappropriate use of prescription drugs; and
            ``(3) provides services to minimize adverse events due to 
        unintended prescription drug-to-drug interactions.
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 
2001, and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2002 
through 2005.''.
                                 <all>