[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1999 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1999

To amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act, as added by 
 the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 
     2003, to provide for negotiation of fair prices for Medicare 
                          prescription drugs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 9, 2003

  Mr. Daschle (for himself, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Graham of Florida, Mr. 
    Kennedy, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Dorgan, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. 
    Bingaman, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Kohl, Ms. 
Cantwell, and Mr. Rockefeller) introduced the following bill; which was 
          read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act, as added by 
 the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 
     2003, to provide for negotiation of fair prices for Medicare 
                          prescription drugs.

    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 ``Medicare Prescription Drug Price 
Reduction Act''.

SEC. 2. NEGOTIATING FAIR PRICES FOR MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.

    Section 1860D-11 of the Social Security Act, as added by section 
101(a) of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 
Modernization Act of 2003, is amended by striking subsection (i) 
(relating to noninterference) and by inserting the following:
    ``(i) Authority To Negotiate Prices With Manufacturers.--In order 
to ensure that beneficiaries enrolled under prescription drug plans and 
MA-PD plans pay the lowest possible price, the Secretary shall have 
authority similar to that of other Federal entities that purchase 
prescription drugs in bulk to negotiate contracts with manufacturers of 
covered part D drugs, consistent with the requirements and in 
furtherance of the goals of providing quality care and containing costs 
under this part.''.
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