Conference Report Summary
Major Provisions of the New Law
On December 8, 2003, the President signed into law H.R. 1, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. The Act adds a prescription drug benefit and replaces the existing Medicare+Choice program with a new program called the Medicare Advantage program. The prescription drug benefit, which begins in 2006, is voluntary and beneficiaries will pay a monthly premium after enrolling. Until that time, beneficiaries will have access to a drug discount card to obtain discounts on their drug purchases.Medicare Advantage establishes payments based on a system of bids and benchmarks. One area of major difference during the House-Senate…
