Improving Access to Medicare Part D Act of 2006
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, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman .
Improving Access to Medicare Part D Act of 2006 - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for a one-year extension until May 15, 2007, of the 2006 initial enrollment period for Medicare prescription drug benefits and Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Extends through May 14, 2007, the current extended period of continuous open enrollment and disenrollment.
Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of SSA title XVIII to repeal the prohibition against interference by the Secretary of Health and Human Services with prescription drug price negotiations between drug manufacturers and pharmacies and prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsors. Authorizes the Secretary to negotiate prescription drug price contracts with manufacturers of covered part D drugs in order to ensure that each enrollee under a PDP or an MA-PD plan pays the lowest possible price.
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should conduct (and improve current) activities, with respect to individuals eligible for the Medicare prescription drug benefits, to: (1) raise the awareness and improve the education of such individuals about such benefits; (2) improve and enhance outreach and enrollment assistance; and (3) provide for the accessibility of appropriate experts (at national, state, and local levels) to ensure that such individuals understand the benefits for which they are eligible.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 4, 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 May 15, 2006: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman .
- 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?
JO ANN DAVIS (R-VA) introduced it on May 4, 2006. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 May 4, 2006, 7481 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7470 days ago, on May 15, 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