Skip to main content
S 3703 109th Congress Senate

Medicare Prescription Drug Lifeline Act of 2006

Official title: A bill to provide for a temporary process for individuals entering the Medicare coverage gap to switch to a plan that provides coverage in the gap.

Introduced: July 20, 2006 See on congress.gov
Health CoinsuranceCongressCongressional investigationsCongressional reporting requirements
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
DrugsFinance and Financial SectorMedicarePrescription pricingSocial Welfare
This bill died when the 109th Congress ended
It never became law before the 109th Congress (2005–2006) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 20, 2006
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Jul 20, 2006
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8062-8063)
Jul 20, 2006
Introduced in Senate
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action July 20, 2006

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Medicare Prescription Drug Lifeline Act of 2006 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a process under which an individual may terminate enrollment in the prescription drug plan or the Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA-PD) Plan in which he or she is enrolled and enroll in any prescription drug plan or MA-PD Plan serving the area where the individual resides that provides some coverage of covered part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) drugs after the individual has reached the initial coverage limit but not yet the annual out-of-pocket threshold.

Sets forth a special rule permitting applicable individuals to enroll in a prescription drug plan outside the region in which they reside.

Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on: (1) the costs to the Medicare program of eliminating the initial coverage limit and providing specified standard prescription drug coverage until the individual reaches the annual out-of-pocket threshold; and (2) the adjustment to the applicable coinsurance that would be necessary to eliminate the initial coverage limit under such conditions without increasing the costs to the Medicare program.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 3703: Medicare Prescription Drug Lifeline Act of 2006. 109th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/109-S-3703/
MLA
"S. 3703: Medicare Prescription Drug Lifeline Act of 2006." 109th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/109-S-3703/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 3703, 109th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/109-S-3703/.
Markdown link
[S. 3703: Medicare Prescription Drug Lifeline Act of 2006](https://openamerica.io/bill/109-S-3703/)
Report a problem