II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3897 

To amend titles XI and XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for 

the sharing of certain data collected by the Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services with certain agencies, research centers and organizations, and congressional support agencies. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mr. BAUCUS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend titles XI and XVIII of the Social Security Act 

to provide for the sharing of certain data collected by 

the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services with certain agencies, research centers and organizations, and 

congressional support agencies. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Medicare Data Access 

5 and Research Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The new Medicare drug benefit under part 

2 D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act is deliv3 ered through private prescription drug plans. Private 

4 plans submit administrative and beneficiary level 

5 data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serv6 ices as a condition of participation and payment in 

7 the new Medicare drug program. 

8 (2) Data from the new Medicare drug benefit 

9 can be linked with hospital, ambulatory care, and 

10 other data to create a new comprehensive resource 

11 for the study of drug safety and effectiveness of 

12 medical care in older adults and low-income, dis13 abled, and vulnerable populations. With appropriate 

14 protections for privacy, this data should be available 

15 to the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers 

16 for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for 

17 Healthcare Research and Quality, and the National 

18 Institutes of Health, and university-based research 

19 centers and other research organizations interested 

20 in furthering the public health through research on 

21 the safety, effectiveness, and quality of health care 

22 services provided under the Medicare program under 

23 title XVIII of the Social Security Act. 

24 (3) Timely and ready access to certain data 

25 from the new Medicare drug benefit will allow conVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:38 Sep 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3897.IS S3897

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1 gressional support agencies to inform and advise 

2 Congress on the cost, scope, and impact of the new 

3 benefit and assess its quality. 

4 SEC. 3. DRUG AND HEALTH CARE DATA RELEASE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XI of the Social Security Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

7 section 1121 the following new sections: 

8 ‘‘DRUG AND HEALTH CARE CLAIMS DATA RELEASE

9 ‘‘SEC. 1121A. (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

10 any provision under part D of title XVIII that limits the 

11 use of prescription drug data collected under such part, 

12 for the purpose of improving the public’s health, the Sec13 retary, acting through the Centers for Medicare & Med14 icaid Services, shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) enter into data release agreements on an 

16 annual basis with the agencies described in sub17 section (b) to provide access to relevant data sub18 mitted by prescription drug plans and MA–PD plans 

19 under part D of title XVIII, excluding negotiated 

20 price concessions under such part (such as dis21 counts, direct or indirect subsidies, rebates, and di22 rect or indirect remunerations), and linked to hos23 pital, physician, and other relevant medical claims, 

24 utilization, and diagnostic data collected under titles 

25 XVIII and XIX, including data from the uniform reVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:38 Sep 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3897.IS S3897

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1 porting systems established under section 1121(a); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(2) permit agencies described in such sub4 section to link data provided under this section with 

5 other relevant health data, including survey data, 

6 vital statistics, and disease registries, as needed by 

7 the agency in order to accomplish its research objec8 tives. 

9 ‘‘(b) AGENCIES DESCRIBED.—The agencies described 

10 in this subsection are as follows: 

11 ‘‘(1) The Food and Drug Administration. 

12 ‘‘(2) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre13 vention. 

14 ‘‘(3) The Agency for Healthcare Research and 

15 Quality. 

16 ‘‘(4) The National Institutes of Health. 

17 ‘‘(c) USE OF THE DATA PROVIDED.—Data provided 

18 under a data release agreement under subsection (a)(1) 

19 shall only be used for the following purposes: 

20 ‘‘(1) FDA.—In the case of the Food and Drug 

21 Administration, to enhance post marketing surveil22 lance by— 

23 ‘‘(A) studying patterns of drug and vaccine 

24 utilization over time after a drug has been 

25 placed on the market; 


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1 ‘‘(B) studying health risks associated with 

2 such utilization, particularly with respect to im3 proving the speed of risk identification in order 

4 to mitigate or resolve such risks; 

5 ‘‘(C) studying drug utilization in order to 

6 promote consumer education that would allow 

7 consumers and health care providers to make 

8 informed product choices and informed drug 

9 compliance choices; and 

10 ‘‘(D) performing such other functions, con11 sistent with the purposes of this section and the 

12 Agency’s mission, as are determined appro13 priate by the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(2) CDC.—In the case of the Centers for Dis15 ease Control and Prevention, to— 

16 ‘‘(A) improve surveillance of clinical out17 breaks and emerging threats; 

18 ‘‘(B) study immunization rates; 

19 ‘‘(C) study outcomes of specific diseases; 

20 ‘‘(D) develop and monitor the use of pre21 ventive screening protocols using claims data; 

22 ‘‘(E) study drug and medical utilization in 

23 order to promote consumer education and treat24 ment for specific public health risks; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) perform such other functions, con2 sistent with the purposes of this section and the 

3 Agency’s mission, as are determined appro4 priate by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(3) AHRQ.—In the case of the Agency for 

6 Healthcare Research and Quality, to— 

7 ‘‘(A) carry out the Agency’s research obli8 gations under section 1013 of the Medicare 

9 Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Mod10 ernization Act of 2003; 

11 ‘‘(B) conduct research consistent with the 

12 Agency’s mission to improve the quality, safety, 

13 efficiency, and effectiveness of health care; and 

14 ‘‘(C) perform such other functions, con15 sistent with the purposes of this section and 

16 such mission, as are determined appropriate by 

17 the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(4) NIH.—In the case of the National Insti19 tutes of Health, to— 

20 ‘‘(A) help prevent, detect, diagnose, and 

21 treat disease and disabilities; and 

22 ‘‘(B) perform such other functions, con23 sistent with the purposes of this section and the 

24 Agency’s mission, as are determined appro25 priate by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(d) TIMEFRAME FOR DATA RELEASE.—A data re2 lease agreement entered into under this section shall pro3 vide for the release of information as needed by the Agen4 cy for the uses described in subsection (c). 

5 ‘‘(e) DATA RELEASE PROCEDURES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) DETERMINING APPROPRIATE LEVEL AND

7 ELEMENTS OF DATA FOR RELEASE.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

9 establish a process to determine the appropriate 

10 level and elements of data to be released to an 

11 Agency under this section in order to ensure 

12 that the Agency, and researchers within the 

13 Agency, are able to conduct meaningful anal14 yses while maintaining the confidentiality of the 

15 data provided under the data release agree16 ment. 

17 ‘‘(B) RELATIONSHIP TO PROCEDURES FOR

18 RELEASE TO PRIVATE RESEARCHERS.—The 

19 process established under subparagraph (A) 

20 may be analogous to the process used by the 

21 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for 

22 the release of data to private researchers. 

23 ‘‘(2) AGENCY FEEDBACK ON ANALYSES CON24 DUCTED.—The Secretary shall establish a process 

25 for Agencies that are provided data under a data reVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:38 Sep 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3897.IS S3897

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1 lease agreement under this section to provide the re2 sults of the analyses conducted using such data to 

3 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for 

4 use in the administration and assessment of pro5 grams administered by the Centers for Medicare & 

6 Medicaid Services, including the program under part 

7 D of title XVIII. 

8 ‘‘(3) REVIEW OF DATA PROCEDURES.—The 

9 Secretary shall establish a process to review and up10 date the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) The processes established under para12 graphs (1)(A) and (2). 

13 ‘‘(B) Procedures for transmission and re14 tention of data released under this section. 

15 ‘‘(f) NOTIFICATION OF INACCURACIES DISCOVERED

16 IN DATA PROVIDED.—The Secretary shall establish proce17 dures to ensure that an Agency that is provided data 

18 under this section notifies the Secretary of any inaccura19 cies discovered in the data by the Agency within a reason20 able time of such discovery. 

21 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—The Secretary shall include (begin22 ning with 2007), as part of the annual report submitted 

23 to Congress under section 1875(b), an evaluation of the 

24 data release agreements entered into under subsection 

25 (a)(1), including a description of the reports and analyses 


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1 conducted by agencies using data provided under such an 

2 agreement. 

3 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec5 essary to carry out the purposes of this section. 

6 ‘‘RESEARCH CENTER AND ORGANIZATION DRUG AND

7 HEALTH CARE DATA USE

8 ‘‘SEC. 1121B. (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

9 any provision under part D of title XVIII that limits the 

10 use of prescription drug data collected under such part, 

11 for the purpose of improving the public’s health, the Sec12 retary shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) enter into data use agreements with the 

14 research centers and organizations described in sub15 section (b) to provide access to relevant data sub16 mitted by prescription drug plans and MA–PD plans 

17 under part D of title XVIII, excluding negotiated 

18 price concessions under such part (such as dis19 counts, direct or indirect subsidies, rebates, and di20 rect or indirect remunerations), and linked to hos21 pital, physician, and other relevant medical claims, 

22 utilization, and diagnostic data collected under titles 

23 XVIII and XIX, including data from the uniform re24 porting systems established under section 1121(a); 

25 ‘‘(2) permit research centers and organizations 

26 described in such subsection to link data provided 


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1 under this section with other relevant health data, 

2 including survey data, vital statistics, and disease 

3 registries, as needed by the research center or orga4 nization in order to accomplish its research objec5 tives; and 

6 ‘‘(3) prepare the linked sets of data described 

7 in paragraph (1) for release not later than July 1, 

8 2007. 

9 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH CENTERS AND ORGANIZATIONS DE10 SCRIBED.—The research centers and organizations de11 scribed in this subsection are as follows: 

12 ‘‘(1) A University-based research center. 

13 ‘‘(2) Any other research center or organiza14 tion— 

15 ‘‘(A) whose primary mission is to conduct 

16 public health research; and 

17 ‘‘(B) which the Secretary determines can 

18 appropriately conduct analyses consistent with 

19 the purposes of this section. 

20 ‘‘(c) USE OF DATA AND PENALTIES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) USE OF DATA.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Data provided to a re23 search center or organization under a data use 

24 agreement under this section shall be used sole25 ly for purposes of research on the safety, effecVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:38 Sep 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3897.IS S3897

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1 tiveness, and quality of, disparities in, and re2 lated aspects of health care use by individuals 

3 entitled to, or enrolled for, benefits under part 

4 A of title XVIII, or enrolled for benefits under 

5 part B of such title, conducted for the purpose 

6 of developing and providing generalizable 

7 knowledge to inform the public health through 

8 scientific publication and other forms of public 

9 dissemination. 

10 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL BY REVIEW BOARD FOR

11 THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS.—Such 

12 use shall be approved by a review board for the 

13 protection of human subjects. 

14 ‘‘(C) REVIEW PROCESS.—The Secretary 

15 shall establish a review process to ensure that— 

16 ‘‘(i) data use agreements under this 

17 section include a detailed description of 

18 how the data is to be used under the 

19 agreement; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) such use is consistent with the 

21 purposes described in subparagraph (A). 

22 ‘‘(2) PENALTIES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A research center or 

24 organization who knowingly or intentionally 

25 uses data provided under a data use agreement 


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1 under this section for any purpose other than 

2 the purposes described in paragraph (1)(A) 

3 shall be subject, in addition to any other pen4 alties that may be prescribed by law, to— 

5 ‘‘(i) a civil money penalty of not less 

6 than $25,000 for each infraction; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) disqualification from receipt of 

8 any data under this section for not less 

9 than 2 years. 

10 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.—The provisions of sec11 tion 1128A (other than subsections (a) and (b) 

12 and the second sentence of subsection (f)) shall 

13 apply to a civil money penalty under this para14 graph in the same manner as such provisions 

15 apply to a penalty or proceeding under section 

16 1128A(a). 

17 ‘‘(d) RELEASE OF DATA.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A data use agreement en19 tered into under subsection (a)(1) shall provide for 

20 the release of information according to a schedule 

21 approved by the Secretary under the criteria devel22 oped in accordance with paragraph (2). 

23 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVING RESEARCH AP24 PLICATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary, in 

2 consultation with health services researchers 

3 and academicians, shall develop criteria for the 

4 approval of a data use agreement under this 

5 section. 

6 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—The criteria developed 

7 under subparagraph (A) shall include the fol8 lowing requirements: 

9 ‘‘(i) The research center or organiza10 tion has well-documented scientific exper11 tise, a record of scholarship on the topic of 

12 the proposed study, and a likelihood of 

13 successful publication, as demonstrated by 

14 a prior record of relevant publication by 

15 key staff and other evidence of appropriate 

16 scientific qualifications of the proposed re17 search team. 

18 ‘‘(ii) The research center or organiza19 tion demonstrates a credible capability to 

20 conduct and complete the proposed study, 

21 including experience with scientific inves22 tigations using similar types of data. 

23 ‘‘(iii) The research center or organiza24 tion demonstrates the public health impor25 tance of the proposed study, and the poVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:38 Sep 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3897.IS S3897

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1 tential of such study to provide public 

2 knowledge needed to improve the safety, 

3 use, and outcomes of treatments, the ad4 ministration of the program under title 

5 XVIII, and the care provided to individuals 

6 entitled to, or enrolled for, benefits under 

7 part A of title XVIII, or enrolled for bene8 fits under part B of such title. 

9 ‘‘(iv) The research center or organiza10 tion develops a data management plan that 

11 describes in detail the measures that will 

12 be implemented to safeguard the data and 

13 protect the privacy of individuals entitled 

14 to, or enrolled for, benefits under part A of 

15 title XVIII, or enrolled for benefits under 

16 part B of such title, including any pro17 posed data linkages. 

18 ‘‘(v) The research center or organiza19 tion enters into an agreement under which 

20 the research center or organization agrees 

21 to— 

22 ‘‘(I) place detailed results of the 

23 proposed study in the public domain 

24 through publication in a reasonable 

25 timeframe, not to exceed 1 year after 


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1 completion of such study, including a 

2 thorough description of the method3 ology used to conduct the study; 

4 ‘‘(II) make available to the pub5 lic, without charge, any product or 

6 tool developed using the data provided 

7 under this section; and 

8 ‘‘(III) not sell such data to other 

9 entities or create commercial data 

10 products (such as data extracts or an11 alytical files) using such data. 

12 ‘‘(vi) The research center or organiza13 tion and the proposed research team pro14 vide assurances that such team is inde15 pendent from the sources of funding or 

16 any other party and has the right to inde17 pendently and freely publish the scientific 

18 findings of the study. 

19 ‘‘(vii) Such other requirements, con20 sistent with the purposes of this section, as 

21 the Secretary determines appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(3) TIMELY REVIEW AND ACTION ON RE23 QUESTS.—The Secretary shall provide for timely re24 view of, and action on, requests for a data use 

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1 ation the reasonable needs of the research center or 

2 organization. 

3 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—The Secretary shall 

4 make available to the public the criteria used to 

5 grant or deny data use agreements under the cri6 teria developed under paragraph (2)(A). 

7 ‘‘(e) FEEDBACK BY RESEARCH CENTER OR ORGANI8 ZATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION OF INACCURACIES DISCOV10 ERED IN DATA PROVIDED.—The Secretary shall es11 tablish procedures to ensure that a research center 

12 or organization that is provided data under this sec13 tion notifies the Secretary of any inaccuracies dis14 covered in the data by the center or organization 

15 within a reasonable time of such discovery. 

16 ‘‘(2) FEEDBACK ON DATA COLLECTION.—The 

17 Secretary shall permit researchers to provide feed18 back on the collection of data with respect to the 

19 programs administered by the Centers for Medicare 

20 & Medicaid Services and make recommendations 

21 with respect to the collection of additional data ele22 ments with respect to such programs. 

23 ‘‘(f) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) DETERMINING APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF

25 DATA TO BE PROVIDED.—The Secretary shall estabVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:38 Sep 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3897.IS S3897

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1 lish a process to determine the appropriate level of 

2 data to be provided to a research center or organiza3 tion under this section in order to ensure that the 

4 center or organization, and researchers within the 

5 center or organization, are able to conduct meaning6 ful analyses while maintaining the confidentiality of 

7 the data provided under the data use agreement. 

8 ‘‘(2) SAFEGUARDS TO PROTECT CONFIDEN9 TIALITY OF DATA PROVIDED.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

11 establish safeguards to protect the confiden12 tiality of data after it is provided to a research 

13 center or organization under this section. Such 

14 safeguards shall not provide for greater disclo15 sure by the research center or organization 

16 than is permitted under any of the following: 

17 ‘‘(i) The Federal regulations (con18 cerning the privacy of individually identifi19 able health information) promulgated 

20 under section 264(c) of the Health Insur21 ance Portability and Accountability Act of 

22 1996. 

23 ‘‘(ii) Sections 552 or 552a of title 5, 

24 United States Code, with regard to the priVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:38 Sep 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3897.IS S3897

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1 vacy of individually identifiable beneficiary 

2 health information. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONFIDENTIALITY OF PHYSICIANS

4 AND MEDICAL PRACTICES.—The safeguards es5 tablished under subparagraph (A) shall ensure 

6 that the data provided to a research center or 

7 organization under this section that identifies 

8 individual physicians or medical practices is not 

9 released by the research center or organization, 

10 or otherwise made public. 

11 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—The Secretary shall include (begin12 ning with 2007), as part of the annual report submitted 

13 to Congress under section 1875(b), an evaluation of the 

14 agreements entered into under subsection (a). 

15 ‘‘(h) REASONABLE FEE.—The Secretary may charge 

16 a research center or organization a reasonable fee based 

17 on the cost of preparing and providing data to such center 

18 or organization under this section.’’. 

19 (b) CRITERIA DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION.— 

20 The Secretary shall develop and publish the criteria re21 quired under section 1121B(d)(2)(A) of the Social Secu22 rity Act, as added by subsection (a), not later than 180 

23 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 4. ACCESS TO DATA ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLANS 

2 AND MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1875 of the Social Secu4 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ll) is amended— 

5 (1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘TO CONGRESS; 

6 PROVIDING INFORMATION TO CONGRESSIONAL SUP7 PORT AGENCIES’’ after ‘‘AND RECOMMENDATIONS’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub10 section: 

11 ‘‘(c) PROVIDING INFORMATION TO CONGRESSIONAL

12 SUPPORT AGENCIES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provi14 sion under part D that limits the use of prescription 

15 drug data collected under such part, upon the re16 quest of a congressional support agency, the Sec17 retary shall provide such agency with information 

18 submitted to, or compiled by, the Secretary under 

19 part D (subject to the restriction on disclosure under 

20 paragraph (2)), including— 

21 ‘‘(A) only with respect to congressional 

22 support agencies that make official baseline 

23 spending projections, conduct oversight studies 

24 mandated by Congress, or make official rec25 ommendations on the program under this title 

26 to Congress— 


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1 ‘‘(i) aggregate negotiated prices for 

2 drugs covered under prescription drug 

3 plans and MA–PD plans; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) bid information (described in sec5 tion 1860D–11(b)(2)(C)) submitted by 

6 such plans; and 

7 ‘‘(B) access to drug event data submitted 

8 by such plans under section 1860D– 

9 15(d)(2)(A), except, with respect to data that 

10 reveals prices negotiated with drug manufactur11 ers, such data shall only be available to con12 gressional support agencies that make official 

13 baseline spending projections, conduct oversight 

14 studies mandated by Congress, or make official 

15 recommendations on the program under this 

16 title to Congress. 

17 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTION ON DATA DISCLOSURE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Data provided to a 

19 congressional support agency under this sub20 section shall not be disclosed, reported, or re21 leased in identifiable form. 

22 ‘‘(B) IDENTIFIABLE FORM.—For purposes 

23 of subparagraph (A), the term ‘identifiable 

24 form’ means any representation of information 

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1 tion drug plan, MA–PD plan, pharmacy benefit 

2 manager, drug manufacturer, drug wholesaler, 

3 or individual enrolled in a prescription drug 

4 plan or an MA–PD plan under part D. 

5 ‘‘(3) TIMING.—The Secretary shall release data 

6 under this subsection in a timeframe that enables 

7 congressional support agencies to complete congres8 sional requests. 

9 ‘‘(4) USE OF THE DATA PROVIDED.—Data pro10 vided to a congressional support agency under this 

11 subsection shall only be used by such agency for car12 rying out the functions and activities of the agency 

13 mandated by Congress. 

14 ‘‘(5) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary shall 

15 establish safeguards to protect the confidentiality of 

16 data released under this subsection. Such safeguards 

17 shall not provide for greater disclosure than is per18 mitted under any of the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) The Federal regulations (concerning 

20 the privacy of individually identifiable health in21 formation) promulgated under section 264(c) of 

22 the Health Insurance Portability and Account23 ability Act of 1996. 

24 ‘‘(B) Sections 552 or 552a of title 5, 

25 United States Code, with regard to the privacy 


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1 of individually identifiable beneficiary health in2 formation. 

3 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

4 ‘‘(A) CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT AGEN5 CY.—The term ‘Congressional support agency’ 

6 means— 

7 ‘‘(i) the Medicare Payment Advisory 

8 Commission; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the Congressional Research Serv10 ice; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the Congressional Budget Office; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(iv) the Government Accountability 

14 Office. 

15 ‘‘(B) MA–PD PLAN.—The term ‘MA–PD 

16 plan’ has the meaning given such term in sec17 tion 1860D–1(a)(3)(C). 

18 ‘‘(C) PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLAN.—The 

19 term ‘prescription drug plan’ has the meaning 

20 given such term in section 1860D–41(a)(14).’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1805(b)(2) 

22 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395b–6(b)(2)) is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following new subpara24 graph: 


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1 ‘‘(D) PART D.—Specifically, the Commis2 sion shall review payment policies with respect 

3 to the Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit 

4 Program under part D, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) the factors affecting expenditures; 

6 ‘‘(ii) payment methodologies; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) their relationship to access and 

8 quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries.’’. 

Æ 


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