II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1529

To amend title XVIII to expand the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission

to 19 members and to include on such commission individuals with

national recognition for their expertise in manufacturing and distributing

finished medical goods.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 5, 1999

Mr. FRIST (for himself and Mr. ROBB) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To amend title XVIII to expand the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to 19 members and to include on such

commission individuals with national recognition for their

expertise in manufacturing and distributing finished

medical goods.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 Congress finds the following:

5 (1) The amendments to the Social Security Act

6 contained in section 4022 of the Balanced Budget

7 Act of 1997 (Public Law 105–33) established the
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1 Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to replace

2 the Physician Payment Review Commission and the

3 Prospective Payment Assessment Commission.

4 (2) The Medicare Payment Advisory Commis5 sion is required to submit an annual report to Con6 gress containing an examination of issues and policy

7 recommendations that affect the medicare program

8 under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42

9 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.).

10 (3) The medicare program has struggled to

11 keep up with the latest technologies and medical

12 supply products, even if such technologies and prod13 ucts prove to be cost-effective.

14 (4) The ability to keep up with such tech15 nologies and products requires—

16 (A) analysis of both the cost and quality of

17 various products; and

18 (B) constant review of medical develop19 ments.

20 (5) The Medicare Payment Advisory Commis21 sion has broad authority and includes the ability to

22 review and make recommendations on procurement

23 reimbursement and reform issues, including the ef24 fect, impact, and cost implications of competitive

25 bidding, flexible purchasing, and inherent reason-
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1 ableness on the provision of a full range of effective

2 medical products and services to medicare bene3 ficiaries. However, as of the date of enactment of

4 this Act, the membership of the commission has not

5 included individuals with expertise in manufacturing

6 and distributing finished medical goods.

7 SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF MEMBERSHIP OF MEDPAC TO 19.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1805(c) of the Social Se9 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395b–6(c)), as amended by section

10 5202 of the Tax and Trade Relief Extension Act of 1998

11 (contained in division J of Public Law 105–277), is

12 amended—

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘17’’ and in14 serting ‘‘19’’; and

15 (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ‘‘individ16 uals with national recognition for their expertise in

17 manufacturing and distributing finished medical

18 goods,’’ after ‘‘other health professionals,’’.

19 (b) INITIAL TERMS OF ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of staggering

21 the initial terms of members of the Medicare Pay22 ment Advisory Commission under section 1805(c)(3)

23 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395b–

24 6(c)(3)), the initial terms of the 2 additional mem-
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1 bers of the Commission provided for by the amend2 ment under subsection (a)(1) are as follows:

3 (A) One member shall be appointed for 1

4 year.

5 (B) One member shall be appointed for 2

6 years.

7 (2) COMMENCEMENT OF TERMS.—Such terms

8 shall begin on January 1, 2000.

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