S 44
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 44
To amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to
require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate covered
part D drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 25 (legislative day, January 5), 2011
Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. BEGICH) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
A BILL
To amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to
require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate covered
part D drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation
Act of 2011'.
SEC. 2. NEGOTIATION OF LOWER COVERED PART D DRUG PRICES ON BEHALF
OF MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES.
(a) Negotiation by Secretary- Section 1860D-11 of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-111) is amended by striking subsection (i) (relating
to noninterference) and inserting the following:
`(i) Negotiation of Lower Drug Prices-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary
shall negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers the prices (including
discounts, rebates, and other price concessions) that may be charged
to PDP sponsors and MA organizations for covered part D drugs for
part D eligible individuals who are enrolled under a prescription
drug plan or under an MA-PD plan.
`(2) NO CHANGE IN RULES FOR FORMULARIES-
`(A) IN GENERAL- Nothing in paragraph (1) shall be construed to
authorize the Secretary to establish or require a particular formulary.
`(B) CONSTRUCTION- Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed as affecting
the Secretary's authority to ensure appropriate and adequate access
to covered part D drugs under prescription drug plans and under
MA-PD plans, including compliance of such plans with formulary requirements
under section 1860D-4(b)(3).
`(3) CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as
preventing the sponsor of a prescription drug plan, or an organization
offering an MA-PD plan, from obtaining a discount or reduction of
the price for a covered part D drug below the price negotiated under
paragraph (1).
`(4) SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS- Not later than June 1, 2012,
and every 6 months thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees
on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Oversight and Government
Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance
of the Senate a report on negotiations conducted by the Secretary
to achieve lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries, and the prices
and price discounts achieved by the Secretary as a result of such
negotiations.'.
(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall first apply
to negotiations and prices for plan years beginning on January 1, 2012.
END
