Fix Medicare Part D Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Health.
Fix Medicare Part D Act - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal provisions prohibiting the Secretary of Health and Human Services from interfering with negotiations between drug manufacturers and pharmacies and prescription drug plan sponsors. Requires the Secretary to negotiate contracts with manufacturers of covered part D drugs to purchase prescription drugs in order to ensure that beneficiaries under Medicare prescription drug plans pay the lowest possible price.
Pharmaceutical Market Access Act of 2006 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Secretary to promulgate regulations permitting pharmacists, pharmacies, wholesalers, and individuals to import qualifying drugs from certain countries into the United States.
Deems a prescription drug to be misbranded unless the packaging of such drug complies with the requirements for counterfeit-resistant technologies.
Prohibits: (1) failing to register in accordance with this Act; and (2) importing or offering to import a prescription drug in violation of a suspension order.
Declares that selling or importing a patented drug in the United States that was first sold abroad by or under authority of the owner or licensee of the patent is not patent infringement.
Prohibits drug manufacturers from discriminating against a person that engages in the importation of a prescription drug, including by charging higher prices or denying supplies of the drug.
Extends the 2006 annual coordinated election period for enrollment in a Medicare prescription drug plan until November 14, 2006. Suspends until after December 2006 any penalties for late enrollment in such a plan.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 16, 2006. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 17, 2006: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
RICK LARSEN (D-WA) introduced it on February 16, 2006, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 16, 2006, 7558 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7557 days ago, on February 17, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers