[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8725 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8725
To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit to
Congress a report on the option to elect to pay cost-sharing under a
prescription drug plan or MA-PD plan in monthly capped amounts.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 13, 2024
Ms. Caraveo (for herself, Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia, and Mr. Kean of New
Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on
Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit to
Congress a report on the option to elect to pay cost-sharing under a
prescription drug plan or MA-PD plan in monthly capped amounts.
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 ``Increasing Medication Access for
Seniors Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. REPORTS ON MEDICARE PART D MONTHLY CAPPED COST-SHARING OPTION.
(a) Reports.--Not later than March 31, 2026, and not less
frequently than every year thereafter until March 31, 2031, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as
the ``Secretary'') shall submit to Congress a report on the option to
elect to pay cost-sharing under a prescription drug plan or MA-PD plan
in monthly capped amounts under section 1860D-2(b)(2)(E)(i) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-102(b)(2)(E)(i)), including, with
respect to the 1-year period ending on the date that is 1 year before
the date on which the report is required to be submitted--
(1) the number of Medicare part D enrollees who made such
an election during such period;
(2) an estimate of the number of Medicare part D enrollees
who did not make such an election and incurred out-of-pocket
costs with respect to covered part D drugs during such period
that make it likely such enrollees may benefit from making such
an election, as determined by the Secretary;
(3) a description of any steps taken by the Secretary
during such period to implement a mechanism to allow a Medicare
part D enrollee to make such election at the point-of-sale of a
covered part D drug, including information on how such a
mechanism may be made available for every Medicare part D
enrollee;
(4) a description of each method used by the Secretary
during such period to facilitate making such an election,
including--
(A) the Medicare.gov website;
(B) the notice distributed pursuant to section
1804(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395b-
2(a)) (commonly known as the Medicare & You handbook);
(C) the toll-free telephone number 1-800-MEDICARE;
and
(D) resources for health care providers; and
(5) a description of any other outreach efforts the
Secretary conducted with respect to such option during such
period, including outreach to--
(A) health care provider associations and
societies;
(B) patient and consumer advocacy groups that
represent Medicare part D enrollees;
(C) pharmacy benefit managers;
(D) pharmacies; and
(E) health insurance providers.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Medicare part d enrollee.--The term ``Medicare part D
enrollee'' means an individual enrolled in a prescription drug
plan or MA-PD plan under part D of title XVIII of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-101 et seq.).
(2) Medicare part d terms.--The terms ``covered part D
drug'', ``prescription drug plan'', and ``MA-PD plan'' have the
meanings given each such term in part D of title XVIII of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-101 et seq.).
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