Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Part D Premium Protection Act of 2026.
(a) In general
For 2027, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish a premium credit to be administered with respect to enrollees in a prescription drug plan under part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–101 et seq.) (in this section referred to as a PDP) in accordance with the process established under subsection (b) that is equal to the average premium reduction applicable with respect to enrollees in participating PDPs under the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration (as described in the announcement issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on July 29, 2024) conducted pursuant to section 402 of the Social Security Amendments of 1967 (42 U.S.C. 1395b–1), as calculated with respect to rates of such premiums in effect during the period beginning on January 1, 2025, and ending on the last day of 2026 for which such data is available.
(b) Administration process
The Secretary shall establish a process under which—
(1) the Secretary notifies each PDP sponsor (as defined in section 1860D–41(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–151(a))) of the amount of the credit under subsection (a);
(2) each such sponsor charges enrollees the premium amounts otherwise applicable with respect to each such enrollee for 2027, minus the amount of such credit, except that such a charge may not be less than zero dollars; and
(3) the Secretary pays any credit amount subtracted from the premium amount under paragraph (2) with respect to an enrollee to the appropriate PDP sponsor.