I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3961 

To require the establishment of a Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers to compute cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits under titles II and XVIII of the Social Security Act. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2015 

Mr. DEFAZIO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Energy 

and Commerce and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the establishment of a Consumer Price Index 

for Elderly Consumers to compute cost-of-living increases 

for Social Security and Medicare benefits under titles 

II and XVIII of the Social Security Act. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Price Index 

5 for Elderly Consumers Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR ELDERLY CON2 SUMERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Labor Statistics 

4 of the Department of Labor shall prepare and publish an 

5 index for each calendar month to be known as the ‘‘Con6 sumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers’’ that indicates 

7 changes over time in expenditures for consumption which 

8 are typical for individuals in the United States who are 

9 62 years of age or older. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply 

11 with respect to calendar months ending on or after July 

12 31 of the calendar year following the calendar year in 

13 which this Act is enacted. 

14 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec16 essary to carry out the provisions of this section. 

17 SEC. 3. COMPUTATION OF COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES. 

18 (a) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE II.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 215(i) of the Social 

20 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)) is amended— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1)(G), by inserting be22 fore the period the following: ‘‘, and, solely with 

23 respect to any monthly insurance benefit pay24 able under this title to an individual who has 

25 attained age 62, effective for adjustments under 

26 this subsection to the primary insurance 


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1 amount on which such benefit is based (or to 

2 any such benefit under section 227 or 228) oc3 curring after such individual attains such age, 

4 the applicable Consumer Price Index shall be 

5 deemed to be the Consumer Price Index for El6 derly Consumers and such primary insurance 

7 amount shall be deemed adjusted under this 

8 subsection using such Index’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and by 

10 section 9001’’ and inserting ‘‘, by section 

11 9001’’, and by inserting after ‘‘1986,’’ the fol12 lowing: ‘‘and by section 3(a) of the Consumer 

13 Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act of 

14 2015,’’. 

15 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS IN APPLICABLE

16 FORMER LAW.—Section 215(i)(1)(C) of such Act, as 

17 in effect in December 1978 and applied in certain 

18 cases under the provisions of such Act in effect after 

19 December 1978, is amended by inserting before the 

20 period the following: ‘‘, and, solely with respect to 

21 any monthly insurance benefit payable under this 

22 title to an individual who has attained age 62, effec23 tive for adjustments under this subsection to the pri24 mary insurance amount on which such benefit is 

25 based (or to any such benefit under section 227 or 


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1 228) occurring after such individual attains such 

2 age, the applicable Consumer Price Index shall be 

3 deemed to be the Consumer Price Index for Elderly 

4 Consumers and such primary insurance amount 

5 shall be deemed adjusted under this subsection using 

6 such Index’’. 

7 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

8 by paragraph (1) shall apply to determinations made 

9 with respect to cost-of-living computation quarters 

10 ending on or after September 30 of the second cal11 endar year following the calendar year in which this 

12 Act is enacted. 

13 (b) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE XVIII.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title XVIII of such Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) is amended— 

16 (A) in section 1814(i)(2)(B) (42 U.S.C. 

17 1395f(i)(2)(B)), by inserting ‘‘(i) for accounting 

18 years ending before October 1 of the second cal19 endar year following the calendar year in which 

20 the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Con21 sumers Act of 2015 was enacted,’’ after ‘‘for a 

22 year is’’, and by inserting after ‘‘fifth month of 

23 the accounting year’’ the following: ‘‘, and (ii) 

24 for accounting years ending after October 1 of 

25 such calendar year, the cap amount determined 


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1 under clause (i) for the last accounting year re2 ferred to in such clause, increased or decreased 

3 by the same percentage as the percentage in4 crease or decrease, respectively, in the medical 

5 care expenditure category (or corresponding 

6 category) of the Consumer Price Index for El7 derly Consumers, published by the Bureau of 

8 Labor Statistics, from March of such calendar 

9 year to the fifth month of the accounting year’’; 

10 (B) in section 1821(c)(2)(C)(ii)(II) (42 

11 U.S.C. 1395i–5(c)(2)(C)(ii)(II)), by striking 

12 ‘‘consumer price index for all urban consumers 

13 (all items; United States city average)’’ and in14 serting ‘‘Consumer Price Index for Elderly Con15 sumers’’; 

16 (C) in section 1833(h)(2)(A)(i) (42 U.S.C. 

17 1395l(h)(2)(A)(i)) by striking ‘‘Consumer Price 

18 Index for All Urban Consumers (United States 

19 city average)’’ and inserting ‘‘Consumer Price 

20 Index for Elderly Consumers’’; 

21 (D) in section 1833(i)(2)(C)(i) (42 U.S.C. 

22 1395l(i)(2)(C)(i)), by striking ‘‘Consumer Price 

23 Index for all urban consumers (U.S. city aver24 age)’’ and inserting ‘‘Consumer Price Index for 

25 Elderly Consumers’’; 


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1 (E) in section 1834(a)(14)(L) (42 U.S.C. 

2 1395m(a)(14)(L)), by striking ‘‘consumer price 

3 index for all urban consumers (U.S. urban aver4 age)’’ and inserting ‘‘applicable consumer price 

5 index’’; 

6 (F) in section 1834(h)(4)(A)(xi)(I) (42 

7 U.S.C. 1395m(h)(4)(A)(xi)(I)), by striking 

8 ‘‘consumer price index for all urban consumers 

9 (United States city average)’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘Consumer Price Index for Elderly Con11 sumers’’; 

12 (G) in section 1834(l)(3)(B) (42 U.S.C. 

13 1395m(l)(3)(B)), by striking ‘‘consumer price 

14 index for all urban consumers (U.S. city aver15 age)’’ and inserting ‘‘Consumer Price Index for 

16 Elderly Consumers’’; 

17 (H) in section 1839(i)(5)(A)(ii) (42 U.S.C. 

18 1395r(i)(5)(A)(ii)), by striking ‘‘Consumer 

19 Price Index (United States city average)’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘Consumer Price Index for Elderly 

21 Consumers’’; 

22 (I) in section 1842(s)(1)(B)(ii)(I) (42 

23 U.S.C. 1395u(s)(1)(B)(ii)(I)), by striking ‘‘con24 sumer price index for all urban consumers 

25 (United States city average)’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘Consumer Price Index for Elderly Con2 sumers’’; 

3 (J) in each of subparagraphs (D)(ii) and 

4 (E)(i)(II) of section 1860D–14(a)(3) (42 

5 U.S.C. 1395w–114(a)(3)) and in section 

6 1860D–14(a)(4)(A)(ii) (42 U.S.C. 1395w– 

7 114(a)(4)(A)(ii)), by striking ‘‘consumer price 

8 index (all items; U.S. city average)’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘Consumer Price Index for Elderly Con10 sumers’’; 

11 (K) in section 1882(p)(11)(C)(ii) (42 

12 U.S.C. 1395ss(p)(11)(C)(ii)), by striking ‘‘Con13 sumer Price Index for all urban consumers (all 

14 items; U.S. city average)’’ and inserting ‘‘Con15 sumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers’’; 

16 (L) in each of clauses (iv) and (vi)(II) of 

17 section 1886(h)(2)(E) (42 U.S.C. 

18 1395ww(h)(2)(E)), by striking ‘‘for all urban 

19 consumers’’; and 

20 (M) in section 1886(h)(5)(B) (42 U.S.C. 

21 1395ww(h)(5)(B)), by striking ‘‘Consumer 

22 Price Index for All Urban Consumers (United 

23 States city average)’’ and inserting ‘‘Consumer 

24 Price Index for Elderly Consumers’’. 


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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

2 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to deter3 minations made for periods ending after December 

4 31 of the second calendar year following the cal5 endar year in which this Act was enacted. 

Æ 


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