Medicare Enrollment Fairness Act of 2006
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Medicare Enrollment Fairness Act of 2006 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend the annual, coordinated election period, without any late enrollment penalty, for an additional seven months until the end of calendar 2006 for enrollments in Medicare Advantage plans and in the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Permits a one-time change of plan enrollment for the Medicare prescription drug benefit during all of 2006 (currently, only during the first six months of 2006).
Makes appropriations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award health insurance information, counseling, and assistance grants to states under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on May 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 May 16, 2006: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- 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?
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced it on May 16, 2006, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
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 16, 2006, 7422 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7422 days ago, on May 16, 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers