I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3024 

To establish a smart card pilot program under the Medicare program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 2, 2013 

Mr. GERLACH (for himself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Mr. DINGELL) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and 

Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 establish a smart card pilot program under the Medicare 

program. 

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 ‘‘Medicare Common Ac5 cess Card Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SECURE MEDICARE CARD PILOT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) PILOT PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION (PHASE I).— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:15 Aug 10, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3024.IH H3024

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1 retary shall conduct a pilot program under title 

2 XVIII of the Social Security Act for the purpose of 

3 utilizing smart card technology for Medicare bene4 ficiary and provider identification cards in order 

5 to— 

6 (A) increase the quality of care furnished 

7 to Medicare beneficiaries; 

8 (B) improve the accuracy and efficiency in 

9 the billing for Medicare items and services fur10 nished by Medicare providers; 

11 (C) reduce the potential for identity theft 

12 and other unlawful use of Medicare beneficiary 

13 and provider identifying information; 

14 (D) reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the 

15 Medicare program; and 

16 (E) evaluate the efficiencies of patient 

17 matching. 

18 (2) SITE REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

19 conduct the pilot program in at least 5 geographic 

20 areas in which the Secretary determines there is a 

21 high risk for waste, fraud, or abuse. 

22 (3) DESIGN OF PILOT PROGRAM.—In designing 

23 the pilot program, the Secretary shall provide for the 

24 following: 


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1 (A) Implementation of a system that uti2 lizes a smart card as a Medicare identification 

3 card for Medicare beneficiaries and Medicare 

4 providers. Such a card shall contain appropriate 

5 security features and protect personal privacy. 

6 (B) Issuance of a new smart card to all 

7 Medicare beneficiaries participating in the pilot 

8 program. Such card shall not have the Social 

9 Security number printed on the front but, in10 stead shall have such number stored securely on 

11 the smart card chip along with other informa12 tion the Secretary deems necessary. 

13 (C) Issuance of a new provider card to all 

14 Medicare providers participating in the pilot 

15 program. Such card shall include a photograph 

16 of the provider and shall not have the Medicare 

17 provider number printed on the front of the 

18 card but, instead shall have such number stored 

19 securely on the smart card chip along with 

20 other information the Secretary deems nec21 essary. 

22 (D) A process for enrollment of all Medi23 care providers that includes— 

24 (i) identity and certification 

25 verification; and 


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1 (ii) utilization of biometric data, such 

2 as fingerprints, for provider identification 

3 and authentication. 

4 (E) A process under which the cards 

5 issued under subparagraphs (B) and (C) are 

6 used by both Medicare beneficiaries and Medi7 care providers to verify eligibility, prevent 

8 fraud, and authorize transactions. 

9 (F) Distribution of necessary equipment, 

10 including cards, card readers, kiosks, biometric 

11 readers, and other materials or documents to 

12 Medicare beneficiaries and providers at no cost 

13 to them. 

14 (G) Regular monitoring and review by the 

15 Secretary of Medicare providers’ Medicare bil16 lings and Medicare beneficiaries’ Medicare 

17 records in order to identify and address inac18 curate charges and instances of waste, fraud, or 

19 abuse. 

20 (H) Reporting mechanisms for measuring 

21 the cost savings to the Medicare program by 

22 reason of the pilot program. 

23 (I) Including provisions— 

24 (i) to ensure that all devices and sys25 tems utilized as part of the pilot program 


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1 comply with standards for identity creden2 tials and biometric data developed by the 

3 American National Standards Institute 

4 and the National Institute of Standards 

5 and Technology and Federal requirements 

6 relating to interoperability and information 

7 security, including all requirements under 

8 the Health Insurance Portability and Ac9 countability Act of 1996; 

10 (ii) to ensure that a Medicare bene11 ficiary’s and provider’s personal identi12 fying, health, and other information is pro13 tected from unauthorized access or disclo14 sure through the use of at least two-factor 

15 authentication; 

16 (iii) for the development of procedures 

17 and guidelines for the use of identification 

18 cards, card readers, kiosks, biometric data 

19 and readers, and other equipment to verify 

20 a Medicare beneficiary’s identity and eligi21 bility for services; 

22 (iv) to ensure that each Medicare ben23 eficiary and provider participating in the 

24 pilot program is informed of— 

25 (I) the purpose of the program; 


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1 (II) the processes for capturing, 

2 enrolling, and verifying their eligibility 

3 and, with respect to providers, their 

4 biometric data; 

5 (III) the manner in which the bi6 ometric data for providers will be 

7 used; and 

8 (IV) the steps that will be taken 

9 to protect personal identifying, health, 

10 and other information from unauthor11 ized access and disclosure; 

12 (v) for addressing problems related to 

13 the loss, theft, or malfunction of or dam14 age to equipment and any identifying docu15 ments or materials provided by the Sec16 retary; 

17 (vi) for development of a hotline, Web 

18 site, or other means by which Medicare 

19 beneficiaries and providers can contact the 

20 Secretary for assistance; and 

21 (vii) for addressing problems related 

22 to accessing care outside the pilot area and 

23 cases where the individual faces issues re24 lated to physical or other capacity limita25 tions. 


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1 (4) PRIVACY.—Information on the smart card 

2 shall only be disclosed if the disclosure of such infor3 mation is permitted under the Federal regulations 

4 (concerning the privacy of individually identifiable 

5 health information) promulgated under section 

6 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Ac7 countability Act of 1996. 

8 (5) DISCLOSURE EXEMPTION.—Information on 

9 the smart card shall be exempt from disclosure 

10 under section 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States 

11 Code. 

12 (b) EXPANDED IMPLEMENTATION (PHASE II).— 

13 Taking into account the interim report under subsection 

14 (d)(2), the Secretary shall, through rulemaking, expand 

15 the duration and the scope of the pilot program, to the 

16 extent determined appropriate by the Secretary. 

17 (c) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may waive 

18 such provisions of titles XI and XVIII of the Social Secu19 rity Act as the Secretary determines to be appropriate for 

20 the conduct of the pilot program. 

21 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

22 (1) PLAN.—Not later than 6 months after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

24 shall submit to Congress a report that contains a de25 scription of the design and development of the pilot 


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1 program, including the Secretary’s plan for imple2 mentation. 

3 (2) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

4 after the date that the pilot program is first imple5 mented, the Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of 

6 the pilot program and submit an interim report to 

7 Congress. Such an evaluation shall include an initial 

8 analysis of the deployment of the program, the 

9 usability of the card system, and the measures taken 

10 to protect beneficiary and provider information. 

11 (3) ADDITIONAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 

12 years after the date that the pilot program is first 

13 implemented, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 

14 a report on the pilot program. Such report shall con15 tain a detailed description of issues related to the ex16 pansion of the program under subsection (b) and 

17 recommendations for such legislation and adminis18 trative actions as the Secretary considers appro19 priate for implementation of the program on a na20 tionwide basis. 

21 (e) FUNDING.—There are appropriated, from 

22 amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

23 $29,000,000 for the design, implementation, and evalua24 tion of the pilot program. Amounts appropriated under the 

25 preceding sentence shall remain available until expended. 


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1 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) MEDICARE BENEFICIARY.—The term 

3 ‘‘Medicare beneficiary’’ means an individual entitled 

4 to, or enrolled for, benefits under part A of title 

5 XVIII of the Social Security Act or enrolled for ben6 efits under part B of such title. 

7 (2) MEDICARE PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Medicare 

8 program’’ means the health benefits program under 

9 title XVIII of the Social Security Act. 

10 (3) MEDICARE PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘Medi11 care provider’’ means a provider of services (as de12 fined in subsection (u) of section 1861 of the Social 

13 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x)) and a supplier (as 

14 defined in subsection (d) of such section), including 

15 a supplier of durable medical equipment and sup16 plies. 

17 (4) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘pilot pro18 gram’’ means the pilot program conducted under 

19 this section. 

20 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

22 (6) SMART CARD.—The term ‘‘smart card’’ 

23 means a secure, electronic, machine readable, fraud24 resistant, tamper-resistant card that includes an emVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:15 Aug 10, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3024.IH H3024

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1 bedded integrated circuit chip with a secure micro2 controller. 

Æ 


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