[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2811 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2811

 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to extend the annual, 
coordinated election period under the Medicare part D prescription drug 
   program through all of 2006 and to provide for a refund of excess 
           premiums paid during 2006, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 16, 2006

  Ms. Stabenow (for herself and Mr. Dorgan) 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 extend the annual, 
coordinated election period under the Medicare part D prescription drug 
   program through all of 2006 and to provide for a refund of excess 
           premiums paid during 2006, and for other purposes.

    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 Enrollment Fairness Act of 
2006''.

SEC. 2. EXTENDING THE ANNUAL, COORDINATED ELECTION PERIOD THROUGH ALL 
              OF 2006.

    (a) In General.--Section 1851(e)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395w-21(e)(3)(B)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (iii), by striking ``May 15, 2006'' and 
        inserting ``December 31, 2006''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new sentence:
                    ``An individual making an election during the 
                period beginning on November 15, 2006, and ending on 
                December 15, 2006, shall specify whether the election 
                is to be effective with respect to 2006 or with respect 
                to 2007 (or both).''.
    (b) One-Time Change of Plan Enrollment for Medicare Prescription 
Drug Benefit During All of 2006.--
            (1) In general.--Section 1851(e) of the Social Security Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 1395w-21(e)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)(B)--
                            (i) in the heading, by striking ``for first 
                        6 months'';
                            (ii) in clause (i), by striking ``the first 
                        6 months of 2006,'' and all that follows 
                        through ``is a Medicare+Choice eligible 
                        individual,'' and inserting ``2006,''; and
                            (iii) in clause (ii), by inserting ``(other 
                        than during 2006)'' after ``paragraph (3)''; 
                        and
                    (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``2006'' and 
                inserting ``2007'' each place it appears.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 1860D-1(b)(1)(B)(iii) of 
        the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-101(b)(1)(B)(iii)) is 
        amended by striking ``subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph 
        (2)'' and inserting ``paragraph (2)(C)''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect as if included in the enactment of section 101(a) of the 
Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 
(Public Law 108-173; 117 Stat. 2071).

SEC. 3. INCREASED FUNDING FOR STATE HEALTH INSURANCE COUNSELING AND 
              ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--There are hereby appropriated to the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the 
``Secretary'') an amount equal to $2 multiplied by the total number of 
individuals eligible for benefits under title XVIII of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.). Such funds shall--
            (1) be used by the Secretary to award grants to States 
        under section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
        1990 (42 U.S.C. 1395b-4); and
            (2) remain available until expended.
    (b) Allocation of Grant Funds.--The Secretary shall ensure that 
funds appropriated under this section are allocated to States in an 
amount equal to the proportion of the number of residents in the State 
that are eligible for benefits under title XVIII of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) in relation to the total number of 
individuals eligible for such benefits under such title.
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