II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1680 

To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide the 

authorized representative of a deceased beneficiary full access to information with respect to the deceased beneficiary’s benefits under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2009 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act 

to provide the authorized representative of a deceased 

beneficiary full access to information with respect to 

the deceased beneficiary’s benefits under the Medicare 

and Medicaid programs. 

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 ‘‘Expanding Access to 

5 Medical Records Act’’. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1680 IS

1 SEC. 2. FULL ACCESS TO MEDICARE INFORMATION BY THE 

2 AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF A DE3 CEASED BENEFICIARY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XVIII of the Social Security 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

6 the end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘FULL ACCESS TO MEDICARE INFORMATION BY THE AU8 THORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF A DECEASED BENE9 FICIARY

10 ‘‘SEC. 1899. (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of the 

11 death of an individual entitled to, or enrolled for, benefits 

12 under part A or enrolled for benefits under part B, the 

13 Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) make available to the authorized represent15 ative of the individual all information concerning the 

16 individual’s benefits under this title, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) the coverage and status of such bene18 fits (as of the day before the individual’s 

19 death); and 

20 ‘‘(B) billing, claims, and payment informa21 tion regarding items and services furnished to 

22 the individual under this title (on or before such 

23 day); and 

24 ‘‘(2) provide such authorized representative ac25 cess to any source of information maintained by the 

26 Federal government with respect to such benefits, 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1680 IS

1 including online databases, that the individual had 

2 access to during his or her lifetime. 

3 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTA4 TIVE; SPECIAL RULES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

6 ‘authorized representative’ means an executor, ad7 ministrator, or other individual who has authority to 

8 act on the deceased individual’s behalf (as deter9 mined by the Secretary under paragraph (2)). 

10 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF AUTHORIZED REP11 RESENTATIVE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

13 establish procedures under which the Secretary 

14 determines whether an individual is an author15 ized representative of the deceased individual. 

16 Under such procedures, the individual seeking 

17 such determination shall provide evidence (in 

18 such form and such manner as specified by the 

19 Secretary) of the individual’s legal authority to 

20 act on behalf of the deceased individual. 

21 ‘‘(B) TIMELINE FOR DETERMINATION.— 

22 The Secretary shall make a determination 

23 under subparagraph (A) not later than 30 days 

24 after receipt of the evidence described in such 

25 subparagraph. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1680 IS

1 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION AND ACCESS TO INFORMA2 TION.—After making a determination under para3 graph (2) with respect to an individual, the Sec4 retary shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) notify the individual of the deter6 mination not later than 7 days after the date 

7 on which the determination is made; and 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case where such individual is 

9 so determined to be the authorized representa10 tive of the deceased individual, as soon as prac11 ticable— 

12 ‘‘(i) make available to the authorized 

13 representative the information described in 

14 paragraph (1) of subsection (a); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) provide the authorized represent16 ative access to the sources described in 

17 paragraph (2) of such subsection.’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

19 this section shall take effect on the date that is 60 days 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1680 IS

1 SEC. 3. FULL ACCESS TO MEDICAID INFORMATION BY THE 

2 AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF A DE3 CEASED BENEFICIARY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XIX of the Social Security 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

6 the end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘FULL ACCESS TO MEDICAID INFORMATION BY THE AU8 THORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF A DECEASED BENE9 FICIARY

10 ‘‘SEC. 1943. (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of the 

11 death of an individual enrolled under the State plan for 

12 medical assistance or under a waiver of such plan, the 

13 State Medicaid agency shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) make available to the authorized represent15 ative of the individual all information concerning the 

16 individual’s benefits under this title, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) the coverage and status of such bene18 fits (as of the day before the individual’s 

19 death); and 

20 ‘‘(B) billing, claims, and payment informa21 tion regarding items and services furnished to 

22 the individual under this title (on or before such 

23 day); and 

24 ‘‘(2) provide such authorized representative ac25 cess to any source of information maintained by the 

26 State with respect to such benefits, including online 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1680 IS

1 databases, that the individual had access to during 

2 his or her lifetime. 

3 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTA4 TIVE; SPECIAL RULES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) In this section, the term ‘authorized rep6 resentative’ means an executor, administrator, or 

7 other individual who has authority to act on the de8 ceased individual’s behalf (as determined by the 

9 State Medicaid agency under paragraph (2)). 

10 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF AUTHORIZED REP11 RESENTATIVE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State Medicaid 

13 agency shall establish procedures under which 

14 such agency determines whether an individual 

15 qualifies as an authorized representative of the 

16 deceased individual. Under such procedures, the 

17 individual seeking such a determination shall 

18 provide evidence (in such form and such man19 ner as specified by the State Medicaid Agency) 

20 of the individual’s legal authority to act on be21 half of the deceased individual. 

22 ‘‘(B) TIMELINE FOR DETERMINATION.— 

23 The State Medicaid agency shall make a deter24 mination under subparagraph (A) not later 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1680 IS

1 than 30 days after receipt of the evidence de2 scribed in such subparagraph. 

3 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION AND ACCESS TO INFORMA4 TION.—After making a determination under para5 graph (2) with respect to an individual, the State 

6 Medicaid Agency shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) notify the individual of the deter8 mination not later than 7 days after the date 

9 on which the determination is made; and 

10 ‘‘(B) in the case where such individual is 

11 so determined to be the authorized representa12 tive of the deceased individual, as soon as prac13 ticable— 

14 ‘‘(i) make available to the authorized 

15 representative the information described in 

16 paragraph (1) of subsection (a); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) provide the authorized represent18 ative access to the sources described in 

19 paragraph (2) of such subsection. 

20 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION OF STATE MEDICAID AGENCY.— 

21 The term ‘State Medicaid agency’ means the State agency 

22 responsible for administering the State plan established 

23 under this title or any waiver of such plan.’’. 

24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1680 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), the amendment made by this section shall 

3 take effect on the date that is 60 days after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act. 

5 (2) EXTENSION OF EFFECTIVE DATE FOR

6 STATE LAW AMENDMENT.—In the case of a State 

7 plan under this title which the Secretary of Health 

8 and Human Services determines requires State legis9 lation in order for the plan to meet the additional 

10 requirements imposed by the amendment made by 

11 subsection (a), the State plan shall not be regarded 

12 as failing to comply with the requirements of such 

13 title solely on the basis of its failure to meet these 

14 additional requirements before the first day of the 

15 first calendar quarter beginning after the close of 

16 the first regular session of the State legislature that 

17 begins after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 For purposes of the previous sentence, in the case 

19 of a State that has a 2-year legislative session, each 

20 year of the session is considered to be a separate 

21 regular session of the State legislature. 

Æ 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS