[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1687 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1687
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a system
to notify individuals approaching Medicare eligibility.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 18, 2023
Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Young, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Collins, Ms.
Sinema, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Brown, Mr. Sullivan, Ms.
Smith, and Mr. Braun) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a system
to notify individuals approaching Medicare eligibility.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Beneficiary Enrollment Notification
and Eligibility Simplification 2.0 Act'' or the ``BENES 2.0 Act''.
SEC. 2. BENEFICIARY ENROLLMENT NOTIFICATION AND ELIGIBILITY
SIMPLIFICATION.
(a) Eligibility and Enrollment Notices.--
(1) As part of social security account statement for
individuals attaining ages 60 to 65.--
(A) In general.--Section 1143(a) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-13(a)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(4) Medicare eligibility information.--
``(A) In general.--In the case of statements
provided on or after the date that is 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this paragraph to individuals
who are attaining ages 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, and 65, the
statement shall also include a notice containing the
information described in subparagraph (B).
``(B) Contents of notice.--The notice required
under subparagraph (A) shall include a clear, simple
explanation of--
``(i) eligibility for benefits under the
Medicare program under title XVIII, and in
particular benefits under part B of such title;
``(ii) the reasons a late enrollment
penalty for failure to timely enroll could be
assessed and how such late enrollment penalty
is calculated, in particular for benefits under
such part B;
``(iii) the availability of relief from
such late enrollment penalty and retroactive
enrollment under section 1837(h) (including as
such section is applied under sections 1818(c)
and 1818A(c)(3)), with examples of
circumstances under which such relief may be
granted and examples of circumstances under
which such relief would not be granted;
``(iv) coordination of benefits (including
primary and secondary coverage scenarios)
pursuant to section 1862(b), in particular for
benefits under such part B;
``(v) enrollment, eligibility, and
coordination of benefits under title XVIII with
respect to populations, for whom there are
special considerations, such as residents of
Puerto Rico and veterans; and
``(vi) online resources and toll-free
telephone numbers of the Social Security
Administration and the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (including 1-800-MEDICARE and
the national toll-free number of the Social
Security Administration) that provide
information on eligibility for benefits under
the Medicare program under title XVIII.
``(C) Development of notice.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary, in
coordination with the Commissioner of Social
Security, and taking into consideration
information collected pursuant to clause (ii),
shall, not later than 12 months after the last
day of the period for the request of
information described in clause (ii), develop
the notice to be provided pursuant to
subparagraph (A).
``(ii) Request for information.--Not later
than 6 months after the date of the enactment
of this paragraph, the Secretary shall request
written information, including recommendations,
from stakeholders (including the groups
described in subparagraph (D)) on the
information to be included in the notice.
``(iii) Notice improvement.--Beginning 4
years after the date of the enactment of this
paragraph, and not less than once every 2 years
thereafter, the Secretary, in coordination with
the Commissioner of Social Security, shall--
``(I) review the content of the
notice to be provided under
subparagraph (A);
``(II) request written information,
including recommendations, on such
notice through a request for
information process as described in
clause (ii); and
``(III) update and revise such
notice as the Secretary deems
appropriate.
``(D) Groups.--For purposes of subparagraph
(C)(ii), the groups described in this subparagraph
include the following:
``(i) Individuals who are 60 years of age
or older.
``(ii) Veterans.
``(iii) Individuals with disabilities.
``(iv) Individuals with end stage renal
disease.
``(v) Low-income individuals and families.
``(vi) Employers (including human resources
professionals).
``(vii) States (including representatives
of State-run Health Insurance Exchanges,
Medicaid offices, and Departments of
Insurance).
``(viii) State Health Insurance Assistance
Programs.
``(ix) Health insurers.
``(x) Health insurance agents and brokers.
``(xi) Such other groups as specified by
the Secretary.
``(E) Posting of notice on websites.--The
Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary shall
post the notice required under subparagraph (A) on the
public internet website of the Social Security
Administration and on Medicare.gov (or a successor
website), respectively.
``(F) No effect on obligation to mail statements.--
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to relieve
the Commissioner of Social Security from any
requirement under subsection (c), including the
requirement to mail a statement on an annual basis to
each eligible individual who is not receiving benefits
under title II and for whom a mailing address can be
determined through such methods as the Commissioner
determines to be appropriate.''.
(B) Timing of statements.--Section 1143(c)(2) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-13(c)(2)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new
sentence: ``With respect to statements provided to
individuals who are attaining age 65, as described in
subsection (a)(4), such statements shall be mailed not
earlier than 6 months and not later than 3 months
before the individual attains such age.''.
(2) Social security beneficiaries.--Title XI of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by inserting
after section 1144 the following new section:
``SEC. 1144A. MEDICARE ENROLLMENT NOTIFICATION AND ELIGIBILITY NOTICES
FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFICIARIES PRIOR TO MEDICARE
ELIGIBILITY.
``(a) Notices.--
``(1) In general.--The Commissioner of Social Security
shall distribute the notice to be provided pursuant to section
1143(a)(4), as may be modified under paragraph (2), to
individuals entitled to monthly insurance benefits under title
II in accordance with subsection (b).
``(2) Authority to modify notice.--The Secretary, in
coordination with the Commissioner of Social Security, may
modify the notice to be distributed under paragraph (1) as
necessary to take into account the individuals described in
such paragraph.
``(3) Posting of notice on websites.--The Commissioner of
Social Security and the Secretary shall post the notice
required to be distributed under paragraph (1) on the public
internet website of the Social Security Administration and on
Medicare.gov (or a successor website), respectively.
``(b) Timing.--Beginning not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this section, a notice required under subsection
(a)(1) shall be mailed to an individual described in such subsection--
``(1) in the third month before the date on which such
individual's initial enrollment period begins as provided under
section 1837; and
``(2) in the case of an individual with respect to whom
section 226(b) applies (except for an individual who will
attain age 65 during the 24 month period described in such
section), in the month before such date on which such
individual's initial enrollment period so begins.''.
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