S. 77 — Introduced in Senate

II 113th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 77 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 23 (legislative day, January 3), 2013 Mr. Franken (for himself and Ms. Klobuchar) 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 authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower prices for Medicare prescription drugs. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Prescription Drug and Health Improvement Act of 2013. 2. Negotiating fair prices for medicare prescription drugs (a) Negotiating fair prices (1) In general Section 1860D–11 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–111) is amended by striking subsection (i) (relating to noninterference) and by inserting the following: (i) Authority To negotiate prices with manufacturers In order to ensure that beneficiaries enrolled under prescription drug plans and MA–PD plans pay the lowest possible price, the Secretary shall have authority similar to that of other Federal entities that purchase prescription drugs in bulk to negotiate contracts with manufacturers of covered part D drugs, consistent with the requirements and in furtherance of the goals of providing quality care and containing costs under this part. . (2) Effective date The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. (b) Biannual reports to Congress Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 6 months thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to Congress a report on the negotiations conducted by the Secretary under section 1860D–11(i) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–111(i)), as amended by subsection (a), including a description of how such negotiations are achieving lower prices for covered part D drugs (as defined in section 1860D–2(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–102(e))) for Medicare beneficiaries.