PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jun 17, 2003
Medicare Extension of Drugs to Seniors (MEDS) Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Prescription Medicine Benefit for the Aged and Disabled) establishing a voluntary insurance program to provide prescription medicine benefits, including pharmacy services, for eligible individuals (including low-income individuals) who are aged or disabled or have end-stage renal disease, and who elect to enroll during a prescribed period. Provides that the program shall be financed from monthly premium payments by enrollees together with Federal appropriations. Creates the Prescription Medicine Insurance Account within the Federal Supplemental Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and implement an Employer Incentive Program that encourages employers to provide adequate prescription medicine benefits to retired individuals and maintain such existing benefit programs.
Outlines provisions for substantial reductions in the price of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries.
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001, with respect to the importation of certain prescription drugs, to revise testing requirements (granting the Secretary certain waiver discretion), and add approved labeling requirements.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Requires the recipient of a patent to make a reasonable pricing agreement with the Secretary (or the Secretary to waive such an agreement in the public interest) if any Federal agency or any non-profit entity: (1) undertakes federally funded health care research and development; and (2) is to convey or provide a patent or other exclusive right to use such research and development for a drug or other health care technology.
People & committees
Rep. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT-At Large] · I–VT
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 18, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.2498 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.2498 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.2498 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.2498 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.