[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 631 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 631

 To amend the Social Security Act to eliminate the time limitation on 
  benefits for immunosuppressive drugs under the Medicare Program, to 
     provide for continued entitlement for such drugs for certain 
individuals after Medicare benefits end, and to extend certain Medicare 
                     secondary payer requirements.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 16, 1999

 Mr. DeWine (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Inouye, Mr. 
  Levin, Mr. Hollings, and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Social Security Act to eliminate the time limitation on 
  benefits for immunosuppressive drugs under the Medicare Program, to 
     provide for continued entitlement for such drugs for certain 
individuals after Medicare benefits end, and to extend certain Medicare 
                     secondary payer requirements.

    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 ``Immunosuppressive Drugs Coverage Act 
of 1999''.

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF TIME LIMITATION ON MEDICARE BENEFITS FOR 
              IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE DRUGS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1861(s)(2)(J) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395x(s)(2)(J)) is amended by striking ``, but only'' and 
all that follows through the semicolon at the end thereof.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to drugs furnished on or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 3. CONTINUED ENTITLEMENT FOR IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE DRUGS FOR CERTAIN 
              INDIVIDUALS AFTER MEDICARE BENEFITS END.

    (a) In General.--Section 226A(b)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 426-1(b)(2)) is amended by inserting ``(except for the provision 
of immunosuppressive drugs pursuant to section 1861(s)(2)(J))'' after 
``shall end''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to drugs furnished on or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN SECONDARY PAYER REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 1862(b)(1)(C) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395y(b)(1)(C), is amended by adding at the end the following: ``With 
regard to immunosuppressive drugs furnished on or after the date of 
enactment of the Immunosuppressive Drugs Coverage Act of 1999, this 
subparagraph shall be applied without regard to any time limitation.''.
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