Medicare Cost-Sharing and Welfare Extension Act of 2005
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.
Medicare Cost-Sharing and Welfare Extension Act of 2005 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to extend through September 2006 the program of cost-sharing assistance to qualifying individuals for the Medicare Part B premium (QI program).
Sets the total amount available for allocation for the QI program as follows: (1) for the period that begins on October 1, 2005, and ends on December 31, 2005, at $100 million; and (2) for the period that begins on January 1, 2006, and ends on September 30, 2006, at $300 million.
Extends through March 31, 2006: (1) the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) under SSA title IV part A; (2) the separate program for abstinence education; (3) additional grants for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa; (4) supplemental grants for population increases in certain states; and (5) the Transitional Medical Assistance program under Medicaid. Makes appropriations.
Extends the National Random Sample Study of Child Welfare and Child Welfare Waiver Authority through March 31, 2006.
Excludes drugs used to treat sexual or erectile dysfunction from coverage as prescription drugs under SSA title XVIII (Medicare), beginning in 2007, except when used to treat another condition, subject to Food and Drug Administration approval. Authorizes states to restrict or exclude such drugs from coverage, with the same exception, under Medicaid.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed Senate amended" stage on September 29, 2005. 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 October 7, 2005: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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?
Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced it on September 27, 2005, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
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 September 27, 2005, 7653 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7643 days ago, on October 7, 2005.
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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers