Recent Medicare Modifications
Background: The Affordable Care Act sparked a massive debate in Congress over the role government should play in providing healthcare. In the past few months, Congress has introduced a wide array of bills making changes to the Medicare program (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) ranging from expanding telehealth coverage to providing for equal treatment of individuals in same-sex marriages.
Now with the recent announcement that Medicare will start paying doctors that provide care to patients with multiple chronic illnesses, expect that Congress will come back from the August recess with more Medicare related legislation on the docket. Be sure to weigh in on the the following recently proposed Medicare modifications below.
- HR 5380
The Medicare Telehealth Parity Act
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a phased-in expansion of telehealth coverage under the Medicare program.
- HR 4998
Medicare Advantage Participant Bill of Rights Act
(S 2558 in the Senate)To enhance beneficiary and provider protections and improve transparency in the Medicare Advantage market.
- HR 5340
To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to expand the permissive exclusion from Federal health programs to include certain individuals with prior interest in sanctioned entities and entities affiliated with sanctioned entities and to provide a criminal penalty for the illegal distribution of Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP beneficiary identification or provider numbers.
- HR 5182
Social Security And Medicare Parity Act
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for equal treatment of individuals in samesex marriages.
- HR 5110
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to repeal rebasing of payments for home health services, as required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and to replace such rebasing with a Medicare home health value-based purchasing program.
- HR 5113
Protecting Seniors’ Medicare Choices from Obamacare Act
To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to end the increased Federal funding for Medicaid expansion with respect to inmates’ hospital care under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to apply the savings towards a 2015 Medicare Advantage stabilization program to help protect seniors’ choices.
- S 2586
Medicare Common Access Card Act of 2014
Establishes a pilot program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act in order to utilize smart card technology for Medicare beneficiary and provider identification cards.
- S 2491
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the eligibility age under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act should not be increased, and (2) the Medicare program should not be privatized or turned into a voucher system.
