Medicare
US Congress 116th Congress
MORE Savings Act Maximizing Opioid Recovery Emergency Savings Act [S.1424]
Modifies coverage of opioid treatments and recovery support services under Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance. Specifically, the bill requires the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test a model in which specified opioid treatments and recovery support services are provided under Medicare without cost-sharing (e.g., coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles). The bill also allows state Medicaid programs to cover recovery support services as part of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and increases the applicable Federal
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Medicare and Medicaid Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2019 [S.1423]
Provides for Medicare coverage of dental, vision, and hearing care. Coverage includes (1) routine dental cleanings and exams, basic and major dental services, emergency dental care, and dentures; (2) routine eye exams, eyeglasses, and contact lenses; and (3) routine hearing exams, hearing aids, and exams for hearing aids. With respect to such care, the bill establishes special payment rules, limitations, and coinsurance requirements. The bill also increases the Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage for dental, vision, and hearing services.
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Strengthening the Medicare Trust Fund Act [S.1422]
Requires net investment income tax revenues to be transferred to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, which funds Medicare hospital services.
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Medicare Access to Rural Anesthesiology Act of 2019 [HB-2666]
Requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide Medicare payment on a reasonable-cost basis for anesthesia services furnished by an anesthesiologist in a rural hospital. Specifically, the CMS shall provide payment for such services in the same manner as payment is provided under current law for services furnished in a rural hospital by a certified registered nurse anesthetist.
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An original concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2020 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2021 through 2024. [SCR-12]
This concurrent resolution establishes the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2020 and sets forth budgetary levels for FY2021-FY2024. The resolution recommends levels and amounts for FY2020-FY2024 for federal revenues, new budget authority, budget outlays, deficits, public debt, debt held by the public, and the major functional categories of spending. It also recommends levels and amounts for FY2020-FY2024 in the Senate for Social Security and Postal Service discretionary administrative expenses. The resolution includes reconciliation
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Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2019 [S.1357]
Requires hospitals to implement and submit to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a staffing plan that complies with specified minimum nurse-to-patient ratios by unit. Hospitals must post a notice regarding nurse-to-patient ratios in each unit and maintain records of actual ratios for each shift in each unit. The bill also requires hospitals to follow certain procedures regarding how ratios are determined and other staff are prohibited from performing nurse functions unless specifically authorized within a state's scope of practice
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Rural Access to Hospice Act of 2019 [HB-2594]
Allows federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health centers (RHCs) to receive payment under Medicare for hospice services. Currently, attending physicians who work for FQHCs and RHCs may provide hospice services only outside of FQHC or RHC work hours and must bill Medicare under their own provider numbers; FQHCs and RHCs may not receive payment under Medicare for such services.
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Home Health Payment Innovation Act of 2019 [HB-2573]
Makes a series of changes relating to payment and coverage of home health services under Medicare and Medicare Advantage (MA). Specifically, the bill allows the home-confinement requirement (also known as the homebound requirement) for home health services to be waived under Medicare and MA. Currently, as a condition of eligibility for such services, a physician must certify that an individual has difficulty leaving home without assistance (e.g., a wheelchair, special transportation, or help from another person) due to an illness or injury. The
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Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act [S.1374]
Exempts individuals with metastatic breast cancer from certain waiting periods for disability insurance benefits under the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program and related Medicare coverage.
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Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2019 [HB-2581]
Requires hospitals to implement and submit to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a staffing plan that complies with specified minimum nurse-to-patient ratios by unit. Hospitals must post a notice regarding nurse-to-patient ratios in each unit and maintain records of actual ratios for each shift in each unit. The bill also requires hospitals to follow certain procedures regarding how ratios are determined and other staff are prohibited from performing nurse functions unless specifically authorized within a state's scope of practice
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PLACE Act of 2019 Protecting Local Access to Care for Everyone Act of 2019 [HB-2552]
Requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to treat certain clinical services that are furnished by an excepted off-campus outpatient department of a provider (i.e., a department that would be considered an off-campus outpatient department but for certain statutory exceptions) during a specified period as though such services were provided on-campus for purposes of Medicare payment. (In November 2018, the CMS issued regulations that applied a lower Medicare payment rate for such services.)
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Medicare Enrollment Protection Act [HB-2564]
Creates a special Medicare enrollment period for individuals enrolled in, or transitioning out of, continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)—a federal law that allows an individual to maintain health coverage following loss of coverage due to termination of employment or another qualifying event. The bill exempts such individuals from certain monthly premium increases associated with delaying Medicare coverage.
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Protecting the health care of all Americans, especially those with preexisting conditions. [HR-280]
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that (1) no American should lose protections for pre-existing conditions due to the enactment of an unconstitutional law, and (2) Congress should enact bipartisan legislation to guarantee affordable health insurance coverage if the Supreme Court decides the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional.
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UNDERSTAND Act Utilizing National Data, Effectively Reforming Standards and Tools, to Address Negative Determinates of Health Act [S.1323]
Requires the collection and reporting of social determinants of health that may affect Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries and individuals who receive services at federally qualified health centers. Social determinants of health include educational, employment, housing, and family circumstances.
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Medical Nutrition Equity Act of 2019 [HB-2501]
Expands coverage under Medicare, Medicaid, other specified federal health-care programs, and private health insurance to include foods, vitamins, and individual amino acids that are medically necessary for the management of certain digestive and metabolic disorders and conditions.
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PACT Act Patient Access to Cellular Transplant Act [HB-2498]
Specifies that payment under Medicare to a hospital for the acquisition costs of an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (e.g., bone marrow transplant from a donor) must be made on a reasonable cost basis (similar to the current payment methodology for solid organ acquisitions). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must determine included items through regulations.
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BENES Act of 2020 Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification Act of 2020 [HB-2477]
Makes a series of changes to, and requires additional notifications regarding, the Medicare enrollment process. Specifically, the bill changes the Medicare general enrollment period to October 15-December 31, and requires coverage to begin on the first day of the month following enrollment. (Currently, the general enrollment period is January 1-March 31, and coverage begins July 1.) The bill also generally requires coverage to begin on the first day of the month following enrollment for individuals who enroll in the latter months of their initial
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BENES Act of 2019 Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification Act of 2019 [S.1280]
Makes a series of changes to, and requires additional notifications regarding, the Medicare enrollment process. Specifically, the bill changes the Medicare general enrollment period to October 15-December 31, and requires coverage to begin on the first day of the month following enrollment. (Currently, the general enrollment period is January 1-March 31, and coverage begins July 1.) The bill also generally requires coverage to begin on the first day of the month following enrollment for individuals who enroll in the latter months of their initial
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BREATHE Act Better Respiration through Expanding Access to Tele-Health Act [HB-2508]
Requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to establish a pilot program in which qualifying respiratory therapists may provide telehealth services under Medicare. Specifically, the program must allow respiratory therapists to provide telehealth disease management services (e.g., smoking cessation counseling) for individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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Opioid Workforce Act of 2019 [HB-2439]
Increases the number of residency positions eligible for graduate medical education payments under Medicare for hospitals that have addiction or pain management programs, with an aggregate increase of 1,000 positions over a five-year period.