Fix Medicare Part D Act

The Fix Medicare Part D Act (H.R. 4792) proposed significant changes to how the federal government manages prescription drug costs for seniors. The bill would have repealed the "non-interference" clause, officially requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies to secure lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. Additionally, it sought to lower costs by allowing individuals, pharmacists, and wholesalers to legally import prescription drugs from certain foreign countries, provided the packaging met specific counterfeit-resistant standards.

For the average citizen, this legislation aimed to reduce out-of-pocket expenses at the pharmacy by using the government’s collective bargaining power and increasing competition through international imports. The bill also included consumer protections, such as prohibiting drug manufacturers from charging higher prices to those who import drugs and extending the 2006 Medicare enrollment deadline to give seniors more time to choose a plan without facing late-enrollment penalties. Although introduced in 2006, the bill did not advance past the committee stage and did not become law.