Medicare Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2005

Bill: 109-hr-4395
Sponsor: Rep. Conyers, John, Jr. [D-MI-14]
Introduced: 2005-11-18 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Administrative fees
Administrative procedure
Antibiotics
Business records
Coinsurance
Commerce
Compensation (Law)
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Consumer discounts
Cost control
Cost effectiveness
Department of Health and Human Services
Drug advertising
Drug industry
Drug interactions
Drugs
Economics and Public Finance
Electronic funds transfers
Employee health benefits
Federal advisory bodies
Finance and Financial Sector
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Generic drugs
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publications
Government publicity
Government trust funds
Grievance procedures
Health counseling
Health insurance continuation
Health maintenance organizations
Housing and Community Development
Import restrictions
Imports
Insurance premiums
Intellectual property
Labeling
Labor and Employment
Law
Managed care
Marketing
Medicaid
Medical economics
Medical fees
Medical records
Medical savings accounts
Medicare
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
Medigap
Packaging
Patents
Performance measurement
Pharmaceutical research
Pharmacies
Pharmacists
Physicians
Prescription pricing
Privatization
Product counterfeiting
Public service advertising
Quality of care
Research and development
Retiree health benefits
Rural health
Science, Technology, Communications
Social Welfare
Standards
State laws
Subsidies

Summary:
action_date: 2005-11-18
text: 
Medicare Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) as added by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to provide for: (1) no premium; (2) no deductible; (3) coinsurance at a rate of 10%; (4) a $1,500 annual limit on out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs; and (5) reduced cost-sharing for lower-income individuals.
 
Revises the Medigap program and the membership and duties of the Medicare payment advisory commission. 
 
Pharmaceutical Market Access Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to: (1) repeal certain sections of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 relating to importation of prescription drugs from Canada; and (2) restore previous law, amended to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to allow qualifying individuals (in addition to pharmacists and wholesalers) to import covered products.
 
Repeals the mandate that the Secretary require a foreign seller to specify the original source of the product and the amount of each product lot originally received. 
 
Amends requirements for the testing of imported covered products.
 
Classifies prescription drugs as misbranded if they do not incorporate specified counterfeit-resistant technologies in packaging.
 
Establishes a permanent bipartisan Quality Control and Cost Containment Blue Ribbon Task Force.
 
Repeals the Comparative Cost Adjustment Program and prohibits the application of law in a manner that prevents a Medicare beneficiary from continuing to obtain benefits under a traditional fee-for-service Medicare program.
 
Amends SSA title XVIII to repeal the Medicare Advantage Regional Plan Stabilization Fund.

Repeals Health Savings Accounts. 

Provides for application of risk adjustment reflecting characteristics for the entire Medicare population. 
 
Directs the Secretary to make a specified phased-in adjustment of payment rates to Medicare+Choice payment organizations.
 
Repeals the Medicare expenditure cap.
 
Provides for continuous open enrollment in Medicare Advantage Plans.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-12-16
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2005-11-18
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2005-11-18
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2005-11-18
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2005-11-18
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2005-11-18
text: Introduced in House