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S 2300 108th Congress Senate Health Capitation (Medical care) Case mix (Medical care) Commerce Competitive bidding Drugs Economics and Public Finance Finance and Financial Sector Government Operations and Politics Government trust funds Health insurance Health maintenance organizations Insurance companies Insurance premiums Managed care Medical economics Medical fees Medicare Metropolitan areas Prescription pricing

Defense of Medicare Act

Introduced: April 7, 2004 See on congress.gov
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Apr 7, 2004
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Apr 7, 2004
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3937)
Apr 7, 2004
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Defense of Medicare Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in applying risk adjustment factors to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations under part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), to ensure that payments to such organizations are adjusted based on factors that ensure that the health status of the enrollee is reflected in such adjusted payments, including adjusting for the difference between the health status of the enrollee and individuals enrolled under the original Medicare fee-for-service program under Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance) and part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Requires payments to such organizations, in the aggregate, to reflect such differences.

Amends SSA title XVIII part C, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to: (1) revise the formula for determination of the minimum annual Medicare+Choice (Medicare Advantage) capitation rate for 2005 and subsequent years (making it the same as the minimum rate for 2004); and (2) eliminate the Medicare Advantage (MA) Regional Plan Stabilization Fund.

Repeals the Comparative Cost Adjustment Program.

Amends SSA title XVIII, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to require the Secretary to ensure that each individual eligible for such program has available a choice of enrollment in at least two prescription drug plans (currently, at least two qualifying plans, which may be a prescription drug plan or a specified Medicare Advantage-Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plan).

What's happening now April 7, 2004

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1