A bill to amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide that full old-age, survivors, and disability insurance benefits (when based upon the attainment of retirement age), and medicare benefits, will be payable at age 60 (with such insurance benefits being payable in reduced amounts at age 57), to provide a minimum primary benefit of $100 a month, and to liberalize the earnings test; and to amend title XVIII of such act to provide coverage for prescription drugs under the medicare program.

Summary

Provides, under the Social Security Act, that full old-age, survivors, and disability insurance benefits, (when based upon the attainment of retirement age), and medicare benefits will be payable at age sixty, with such benefits being payable in reduced amounts at age fifty-seven. Provides a minimum primary insurance benefit payment of $100 under title II of the Social Security Act. Increases the amount an individual may earn annually, without such earnings reducing his benefit payments, to $3,360. Includes coverage for prescription drugs under the medicare program. Limits the payment made for eligible drugs to those dispensed by a participating pharmacy; except that payments for eligible drugs may be made when such drugs are dispensed by a physician where the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare determines that such eligible drugs were required in an emergency or that there was no participating pharmacy available in the community. Establishes within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, a Medicare Formulary Committee. Directs the Committee to compile, publish, and make available a Medicare Formulary containing the names, and specific dosage forms and strengths which the Committee decides are necessary for proper patient care. Provides that such listing shall include the prices at which the products of such drug entities are generally sold by the suppliers thereof. States that any provider of services whose services are otherwise reimbursable under any program under this Act in which there is Federal financial participation on the basis of "reasonable cost" shall not be entitled to a professional fee or dispensing charge or reasonable billing allowance. Provides that if a particular drug entity, in a given dosage form and strength, in the Formulary is available from more than one supplier, and the product of such drug entity as available from one supplier possesses demonstrated distinct therapeutic advantages over other products of such drug entity, then the reasonable allowance for such supplier's drug product shall be based upon the price at which it is generally sold to establishments dispensing drugs.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

1 official file

• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 30 April 1973

  Open at official source

Sponsors

No sponsors or actors listed by the source.

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.