II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1871 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2015 

Mr. KIRK (for himself and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

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 2015’’. 

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 Sec10 retary shall conduct a pilot program under title 

11 XVIII of the Social Security Act for the purpose of 


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1 utilizing smart card technology for Medicare bene2 ficiary identification cards in order to— 

3 (A) increase the quality of care furnished 

4 to Medicare beneficiaries; 

5 (B) improve the accuracy and efficiency in 

6 the billing for Medicare items and services; 

7 (C) reduce the potential for identity theft 

8 and other unlawful use of Medicare beneficiary 

9 identifying information; and 

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

11 Medicare program. 

12 (2) SITE REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

14 conduct the pilot program in at least 3 areas in 

15 which the Secretary determines there is a high 

16 risk for waste and abuse. 

17 (B) PRIORITY IN TIMING OF DISTRIBUTION

18 OF CARDS.—In each site selected by the Sec19 retary under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

20 shall give priority in the provision of the identi21 fication cards to Medicare beneficiaries who 

22 self-identify that their personal identity and 

23 health information has previously been com24 promised. 


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

2 the pilot program, the Secretary shall provide for the 

3 following: 

4 (A) Implementation of a system that uti5 lizes a smart card as a Medicare identification 

6 card for Medicare beneficiaries. Such a card 

7 shall contain appropriate security features and 

8 protect personal privacy. 

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

10 Medicare beneficiaries participating in the pilot 

11 program. Such card shall have the Medicare 

12 identification number of the Medicare bene13 ficiary stored securely on the smart card chip 

14 along with other information the Secretary 

15 deems necessary. 

16 (C) A process under which the cards issued 

17 under subparagraph (B) are used by both Medi18 care beneficiaries and Medicare providers to 

19 verify eligibility, prevent fraud, and authorize 

20 transactions. 

21 (D) Regular monitoring and review by the 

22 Secretary of Medicare providers’ Medicare bil23 lings and Medicare beneficiaries’ Medicare 

24 records in order to identify and address inacVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 29, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1871.IS S1871

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1 curate charges and instances of waste, fraud, or 

2 abuse. 

3 (E) Reporting mechanisms for measuring 

4 the cost savings to the Medicare program by 

5 reason of the pilot program. 

6 (F) Include provisions— 

7 (i) to ensure that all devices and sys8 tems utilized as part of the pilot program 

9 comply with standards for identity creden10 tials developed by the American National 

11 Standards Institute and the National Insti12 tute of Standards and Technology and 

13 Federal requirements relating to interoper14 ability and information security, including 

15 all requirements under the Health Insur16 ance Portability and Accountability Act of 

17 1996; 

18 (ii) to ensure that a Medicare bene19 ficiary’s personal identifying, health, and 

20 other information is protected from unau21 thorized access or disclosure through the 

22 use of at least two-factor authentication; 

23 (iii) for the development of procedures 

24 and guidelines for the use of identification 

25 cards, card readers, kiosks, and other 


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1 equipment to verify a Medicare bene2 ficiary’s identity and eligibility for services; 

3 (iv) to ensure that each Medicare ben4 eficiary participating in the pilot program 

5 is informed of— 

6 (I) the purpose of the program; 

7 (II) the processes for capturing, 

8 enrolling, and verifying their eligi9 bility; and 

10 (III) the steps that will be taken 

11 to protect personal identifying, health, 

12 and other information from unauthor13 ized access and disclosure; 

14 (v) for addressing problems related to 

15 the loss, theft, or malfunction of or dam16 age to equipment and any identifying docu17 ments or materials provided by the Sec18 retary; 

19 (vi) for development of a hotline or 

20 other means by which Medicare bene21 ficiaries can contact the Secretary for as22 sistance; and 

23 (vii) for addressing problems related 

24 to accessing care outside the pilot area and 

25 cases where the individual faces issues reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Jul 29, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1871.IS S1871

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1 lated to physical or other capacity limita2 tions. 

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

4 shall only be disclosed if the disclosure of such infor5 mation is permitted under the Federal regulations 

6 (concerning the privacy of individually identifiable 

7 health information) promulgated under section 

8 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Ac9 countability Act of 1996. 

10 (5) DISCLOSURE EXEMPTION.—Information on 

11 the smart card shall be exempt from disclosure 

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

13 Code. 

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

15 Taking into account the interim report under subsection 

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

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

18 extent determined appropriate by the Secretary. 

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

20 such provisions of titles XI and XVIII of the Social Secu21 rity Act as the Secretary determines to be appropriate for 

22 the conduct of the pilot program. 

23 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

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

25 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 


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1 shall submit to Congress a report that contains a de2 scription of the design and development of the pilot 

3 program, including the Secretary’s plan for imple4 mentation. 

5 (2) ADDITIONAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 

6 years after the date that the pilot program is first 

7 implemented, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 

8 a report on the pilot program. Such report shall con9 tain— 

10 (A) a detailed description of issues related 

11 to the expansion of the program under sub12 section (b); 

13 (B) recommendations for such legislation 

14 and administrative actions as the Secretary con15 siders appropriate for implementation of the 

16 program on a nationwide basis; and 

17 (C) a justification for each recommenda18 tion described in subparagraph (B). 

19 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) MEDICARE BENEFICIARY.—The term 

21 ‘‘Medicare beneficiary’’ means an individual entitled 

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

23 XVIII of the Social Security Act or enrolled for ben24 efits under part B of such title. 


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

2 program’’ means the health benefits program under 

3 title XVIII of the Social Security Act. 

4 (3) MEDICARE PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘Medi5 care provider’’ means a provider of services (as de6 fined in subsection (u) of section 1861 of the Social 

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

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

9 a supplier of durable medical equipment and sup10 plies. 

11 (4) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘pilot pro12 gram’’ means the pilot program conducted under 

13 this section. 

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

15 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

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

17 means a secure, electronic, machine readable, fraud18 resistant, tamper-resistant card that includes an em19 bedded integrated circuit chip with a secure micro20 controller. 

Æ 


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