S. 2487: Right Prescription for Seniors Act of 2004
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S. 2487: Right Prescription for Seniors Act of 2004
108th Congress · introduced 2004-06-02 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2004-06-02 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Dayton, Mark [D-MN] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Right Prescription for Seniors Act of 2004
Plain summary
Right Prescription for Seniors Act of 2004 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries have access to a Medicare administered prescription drug plan option. Repeals provisions prohibiting the Secretary from interfering with the negotiations between drug manufacturers and pharmacies and prescription drug plan sponsors and from requiring a particular formulary or instituting a price structure for the reimbursement of covered part D drugs. Grants the Secretary the 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. Requires the Secretary to use such authority to negotiate the prices of such drugs under prescription drug plans offered by PDP sponsors. Amends the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary to promulgate regulations allowing qualifying individuals to import covered products (in addition to pharmacists and wholesalers, whom current law authorizes to import such products). States that the Secretary shall not have to store records in cases in which qualifying individuals have imported a covered product. Amends provisions regarding the importation of covered products, repealing the mandate that the Secretary require that a foreign seller specify the original source of the product and the amount of each lot of the product originally received. Amends provisions regarding the testing of imported covered products. Declares that specified tests, including ones involving authenticity and degradation of products, shall not be required unless the importer is a wholesaler. Requires such tests to be conducted by the importer unless a product is a prescription drug subject to requirements for counterfeit-resistant packaging. (Currently either the importer or the manufacturer may conduct such tests). Eliminates the sunset date current law establishes for the provisions pertaining to the importation of covered products (thus making such provisions permanent). Limits prescription drug benefits for Members of Congress.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
What a vote does
A “Yea” vote
If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Right Prescription for Seniors Act of 2004
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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Alternatives
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Dayton, Mark [D-MN] · 0 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (2)
- Rulemaking
- The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
- Securities
- Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-108s2487.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/108/s>
Record fed-us-cong108-s2487 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong108 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong108