[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2026 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2026

   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require that a 
 prescription drug plan or an MA-PD plan that has an initial coverage 
 limit obtain a signed certification prior to enrolling beneficiaries 
               under the plan under part D of such title.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 16, 2005

  Mr. Lautenberg (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Dorgan, and Mr. Dayton) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                          Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require that a 
 prescription drug plan or an MA-PD plan that has an initial coverage 
 limit obtain a signed certification prior to enrolling beneficiaries 
               under the plan under part D of such title.

    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 Gap 
Disclosure Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT OF SIGNED CERTIFICATION PRIOR TO PLAN ENROLLMENT 
              UNDER PART D.

    (a) In General.--Section 1860D-1(b)(1) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395w-101) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
                    ``(D) Special rule for plans with an initial 
                coverage limit.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The process for 
                        enrollment established under subparagraph (A) 
                        shall include, in the case of a prescription 
                        drug plan or an MA-PD plan that has an initial 
                        coverage limit (as described in section 1860D-
                        2(b)(3)), a requirement that, prior to 
                        enrolling a part D eligible individual in the 
                        plan, the plan must obtain a certification 
                        signed by the enrollee or the legal guardian of 
                        the enrollee that meets the requirements 
                        described in clause (ii) and includes the 
                        following text: `I understand that the Medicare 
                        Prescription Drug Plan or MA-PD Plan that I am 
                        signing up for may result in a gap in coverage 
                        during a given year. I understand that if 
                        subject to this gap in coverage, I will be 
                        responsible for paying 100 percent of the cost 
                        of my prescription drugs and will continue to 
                        be responsible for paying the plan's monthly 
                        premium while subject to this gap in coverage. 
                        For specific information on the potential 
                        coverage gap under this plan, I understand that 
                        I should contact (insert name of the sponsor of 
                        the prescription drug plan or the sponsor of 
                        the MA-PD plan) at (insert toll free phone 
                        number for such sponsor of such plan).'.
                            ``(ii) Certification requirements 
                        described.--The certification required under 
                        clause (i) shall meet the following 
                        requirements:
                                    ``(I) The certification shall be 
                                printed in a typeface of not less than 
                                18 points.
                                    ``(II) The certification shall be 
                                printed on a single piece of paper 
                                separate from any matter not related to 
                                the certification.
                                    ``(III) The certification shall 
                                have a heading printed at the top of 
                                the page in all capital letters and 
                                bold face type that states the 
                                following: `WARNING: POTENTIAL MEDICARE 
                                PRESCRIPTION DRUG COVERAGE GAP'.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall take 
effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>