[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 813 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 813

To amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to authorize 
   the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower 
                prices for medicare prescription drugs.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 15, 2005

  Mr. Specter introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

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                                 A BILL


 
To amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to authorize 
   the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower 
                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. NEGOTIATING FAIR PRICES FOR MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1860D-11 of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395w-111) 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.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall take 
effect as if included in the enactment of section 101 of the Medicare 
Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Public 
Law 108-173; 117 Stat. 2066).
    (c) HHS Reports Comparing Negotiated Prescription Drug Prices and 
Retail Prescription Drug Prices.--Beginning in 2007, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall regularly, but in no case less often 
than quarterly, submit to Congress a report that compares the prices 
for covered part D drugs (as defined in section 1860D-2(e) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-102(e)) negotiated by the 
Secretary pursuant to section 1860D-11(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-
111(i)), as amended by subsection (a), with the average price a retail 
pharmacy would charge an individual who does not have health insurance 
coverage for purchasing the same strength, quantity, and dosage form of 
such covered part D drug.
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