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S. 1630: Affordable Access to Prescription Medications Act of 2009

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S. 1630: Affordable Access to Prescription Medications Act of 2009

111th Congress · introduced 2009-08-06 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S9027-9029)

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2009-08-06 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Rockefeller, John D., IV [D-WV] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S9027-9029) Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Affordable Access to Prescription Medications Act of 2009

Plain summary

Affordable Access to Prescription Medications Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to prescription drug plans, to limit the required co-payment or coinsurance for any one prescription to $200, and for all prescriptions in any month to $500. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, to expand the formulary tier exception request process to allow Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a prescription drug plan to request an exception for a specialty prescription drug as a non-preferred prescription drug. Requires the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to study and report to Congress on: (1) the prescription drug program under Medicare part D and the interaction of such program with Medicare beneficiary access to covered drugs under part B; and (2) cost-sharing for prescription drugs under Medicare parts B and D, including an analysis of the impact of eliminating cost-sharing for covered part D drugs for Medicare beneficiaries who incur annual out-of-pocket cost-sharing, after the initial coverage limit, that exceeds 5% of their income and who do not otherwise qualify for an income-related subsidy or other extra help or cost-sharing relief.

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

Affordable Access to Prescription Medications Act of 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Rockefeller, John D., IV [D-WV] · 2 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

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 (1)
Securities
Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong111-s1630 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111