Medicare Doughnut Hole Assistance Act of 2006

Medicare Doughnut Hole Assistance Act of 2006 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program ) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to count expenses for nonformulary covered part D drugs against the Medicare annual out-of-pocket threshold for costs for such drugs.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4928 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4928

 To amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 
   for counting expenses for nonformulary drugs against the Medicare 
   annual out-of-pocket threshold for costs for covered part D drugs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 9, 2006

Mr. Ross (for himself, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Doyle, and Mr. Berry) 
 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 amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 
   for counting expenses for nonformulary drugs against the Medicare 
   annual out-of-pocket threshold for costs for covered part D drugs.

    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 Doughnut Hole Assistance 
Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. COUNTING EXPENSES FOR NONFORMULARY DRUGS AGAINST THE MEDICARE 
              ANNUAL OUT-OF-POCKET THRESHOLD FOR COSTS FOR COVERED PART 
              D DRUGS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1860D-2(b)(4)(C) (42 U.S.C. 1395w-102(b)) 
is amended by striking ``, but does not include any costs incurred for 
covered part D drugs which are not included (or treated as being 
included) in the plan's formulary'' and inserting ``, and includes 
costs incurred for covered part D drugs regardless of whether the drugs 
are included (or treated as being included) in the plan's formulary''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall be 
applied as if it were included in the enactment of the Medicare 
Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Public 
Law 108-173).
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