Medicare Drug Benefit Enrollment Fairness Act of 2006

Medicare Drug Benefit Enrollment Fairness Act of 2006 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to eliminate the Medicare prescription drug late enrollment penalty for months during calendar year 2006.

Amends SSA title XVIII to set additional limitations on the total amount of expenditures from the Medicare Advantage Regional Plan Stabilization Fund for periods prior to October 1, 2007, and during the period from October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2011.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5399 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5399

   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to eliminate the 
 Medicare prescription drug late enrollment penalty for months during 
                     2006, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 17, 2006

  Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut (for herself, Mr. Shaw, Mr. Shays, Mr. 
Ramstad, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Simmons, Mr. Tiberi, Mr. Foley, Mr. English 
 of Pennsylvania, Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia, Mr. Castle, Mr. Sweeney, 
Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Rehberg, Mr. Sherwood, Mr. Leach, Mr. Gerlach, Mrs. Jo 
Ann Davis of Virginia, Mr. Dent, Mr. Bass, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Upton, Mr. 
     Kirk, Mr. Schwarz of Michigan, Mr. Porter, and Mr. Bilirakis) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
    Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, 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 title XVIII of the Social Security Act to eliminate the 
 Medicare prescription drug late enrollment penalty for months during 
                     2006, and for other purposes.

    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 Drug Benefit Enrollment 
Fairness Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG LATE ENROLLMENT 
              PENALTY FOR MONTHS DURING 2006.

    Section 1860D-13(b)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395w-113(b)(3)(B)) is amended by inserting ``(after December 2006)'' 
after ``any month''.

SEC. 3. MEDICARE ADVANTAGE REGIONAL PLAN STABILIZATION FUND REVISIONS.

    Section 1858(e)(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-
27a(e)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Additional limitation.--In no case may the 
                total expenditures from the Fund--
                            ``(i) prior to October 1, 2007, exceed 
                        $584,000,000; and
                            ``(ii) during the period beginning on 
                        October 1, 2007, and ending on September 30, 
                        2011, exceed $4,525,000,000.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect as if included in 
the enactment of Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 
Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-173; 117 Stat. 2181).
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