[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2530 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2530

  To amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to permit 
  medicare beneficiaries to purchase more than one prescription drug 
  discount card and to receive a refund of the enrollment fee if the 
 prices of prescription drugs change or the formulary used by the card 
            sponsor changes during the life of the program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 16, 2004

  Mr. Dayton 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 to permit 
  medicare beneficiaries to purchase more than one prescription drug 
  discount card and to receive a refund of the enrollment fee if the 
 prices of prescription drugs change or the formulary used by the card 
            sponsor changes during the life of the program.

    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 ``Unshackle Seniors Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. PERMITTING MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES TO PURCHASE MORE THAN ONE 
              PRESCRIPTION DRUG DISCOUNT CARD.

    (a) In General.--Section 1860D-31(c)(1)(C) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-141(c)(1)(C)) is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(C) Enrollment in programs.--A discount card 
                eligible individual may enroll in as many endorsed 
                discount card programs under this section as such 
                individual determines appropriate.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 1860D-31 of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-141)) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking the second 
                sentence;
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraph (G); 
                and
            (2) in subsection (g)(2), by striking subparagraph (E) and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(E) Selection of card with transitional 
                assistance.--The Secretary shall establish procedures 
                so that whenever an individual uses any card to obtain 
                any covered discount drug, such individual receives the 
                transitional assistance to which the individual is 
                entitled. Such procedures shall ensure that the 
                individual does not receive an amount of transitional 
                assistance in excess of the amount determined under 
                this paragraph.''.

SEC. 3. REFUNDING ENROLLMENT FEES IF PRESCRIPTION DRUG DISCOUNT CARD 
              COVERAGE CHANGES.

    Section 1860D-31(c)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-
141(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
                    ``(H) Refund of annual enrollment fee if prices 
                increase or formulary changes.--If an individual is 
                involuntarily disenrolled from a prescription drug 
                program for a reason that is not the fault of the 
                individual (as determined by the Secretary), the 
                negotiated price of a covered discount card drug 
                dispensed to an individual enrolled in an endorsed 
                discount card program increases after the date of 
                enactment of the Unshackle Seniors Act of 2004, or if 
                the prescription drug card sponsor that offers an 
                endorsed discount card program changes the formulary 
                applicable under such program after such date, any 
                individual enrolled in such program may elect to 
                disenroll from the program and the sponsor of the 
                program shall refund the entire annual enrollment fee 
                to the individual or entity that originally paid such 
                enrollment fee.''.
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