II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1102 

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expedite the application 

and eligibility process for low-income subsidies under the Medicare prescription drug program and to revise the resource standards used to 

determine eligibility for an income-related subsidy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 12, 2007 

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. SMITH, Mr. KOHL, Ms. SNOWE, Mrs. LINCOLN, and Mr. KERRY) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expedite 

the application and eligibility process for low-income subsidies under the Medicare prescription drug program and 

to revise the resource standards used to determine eligibility for an income-related subsidy, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Part D Equity for 

5 Low-Income Seniors Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXPEDITING LOW-INCOME SUBSIDIES UNDER THE 

2 MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1860D–14 of the Social 

4 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–114) is amended by add5 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(e) EXPEDITED APPLICATION AND ELIGIBILITY

7 PROCESS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) EXPEDITED PROCESS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of 

10 Social Security shall provide for an expedited 

11 process under this subsection for the qualifica12 tion for low-income assistance under this sec13 tion through a request to the Secretary of the 

14 Treasury as provided in subparagraph (B) for 

15 information described in section 6103(l)(21) of 

16 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Such proc17 ess shall be conducted in cooperation with the 

18 Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(B) CURRENTLY ELIGIBLE INDIVID20 UALS.—The Commissioner of Social Security 

21 shall, as soon as practicable after implementa22 tion of subparagraph (A), screen such indi23 vidual for eligibility for the low-income subsidy 

24 provided under this section through such a re25 quest to the Secretary of the Treasury. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE

2 INDIVIDUALS.—Under such process, in the case of 

3 each individual identified under paragraph (1) who 

4 has not otherwise applied for, or been determined el5 igible for, benefits under this section (or who has ap6 plied for and been determined ineligible for such 

7 benefits based only on excess resources), the Com8 missioner of Social Security shall send a notification 

9 that the individual is likely eligible for low-income 

10 subsidies under this section. Such notification shall 

11 include the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION INFORMATION.—Infor13 mation on how to apply for such low-income 

14 subsidies. 

15 ‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION OF THE LIS BEN16 EFIT.—A description of the low-income sub17 sidies available under this section. 

18 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION ON STATE HEALTH IN19 SURANCE PROGRAMS.—Information on— 

20 ‘‘(i) the State Health Insurance As21 sistance Program for the State in which 

22 the individual is located; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) how the individual may contact 

24 such Program in order to obtain assistance 


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1 regarding enrollment and benefits under 

2 this part. 

3 ‘‘(D) ATTESTATION.—An application form 

4 that provides for a signed attestation, under 

5 penalty of law, as to the amount of income and 

6 assets of the individual and constitutes an ap7 plication for the low-income subsidies under this 

8 section. Such form— 

9 ‘‘(i) shall not require the submittal of 

10 additional documentation regarding income 

11 or assets; 

12 ‘‘(ii) shall permit the appointment of 

13 a personal representative described in 

14 paragraph (4); and 

15 ‘‘(iii) shall allow for the specification 

16 of a language (other than English) that is 

17 preferred by the individual for subsequent 

18 communications with respect to the indi19 vidual under this part. 

20 If a State is doing its own outreach to low-income 

21 seniors regarding enrollment and low-income sub22 sidies under this part, such process shall be coordi23 nated with the State’s outreach effort. 

24 ‘‘(3) HOLD-HARMLESS.—Under such process, if 

25 an individual in good faith and in the absence of 


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1 fraud executes an attestation described in paragraph 

2 (2)(D) and is provided low-income subsidies under 

3 this section on the basis of such attestation, if the 

4 individual is subsequently found not eligible for such 

5 subsidies, there shall be no recovery made against 

6 the individual because of such subsidies improperly 

7 paid. 

8 ‘‘(4) USE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE.— 

9 Under such process, with proper authorization 

10 (which may be part of the attestation form described 

11 in paragraph (2)(D)), an individual may authorize 

12 another individual to act as the individual’s personal 

13 representative with respect to communications under 

14 this part and the enrollment of the individual under 

15 a prescription drug plan (or MA–PD plan) and for 

16 low-income subsidies under this section. 

17 ‘‘(5) USE OF PREFERRED LANGUAGE IN SUBSE18 QUENT COMMUNICATIONS.—In the case an attesta19 tion described in paragraph (2)(D) is completed and 

20 in which a language other than English is specified 

21 under clause (iii) of such paragraph, the Commis22 sioner of Social Security shall provide that subse23 quent communications to the individual under this 

24 part shall be in such language. 


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1 ‘‘(6) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub2 section shall be construed as precluding the Commis3 sioner of Social Security or the Secretary from tak4 ing additional outreach efforts to enroll eligible indi5 viduals under this part and to provide low-income 

6 subsidies to eligible individuals.’’. 

7 (b) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION FOR

8 PURPOSES OF DETERMINING INDIVIDUALS ELIGIBLE FOR

9 SUBSIDIES UNDER MEDICARE PART D.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (l) of section 

11 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following new 

13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(21) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION

15 TO CARRY OUT MEDICARE PART D SUBSIDIES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, 

17 upon written request from the Commissioner of 

18 Social Security under section 1860D–14(e)(1) 

19 of the Social Security Act, disclose to officers 

20 and employees of the Social Security Adminis21 tration return information of a taxpayer who 

22 (according to the records of the Secretary) may 

23 be eligible for a subsidy under section 1860D– 

24 14 of the Social Security Act. Such return in25 formation shall be limited to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) taxpayer identity information 

2 with respect to such taxpayer, 

3 ‘‘(ii) the filing status of such tax4 payer, 

5 ‘‘(iii) the gross income of such tax6 payer, 

7 ‘‘(iv) such other information relating 

8 to the liability of the taxpayer as is pre9 scribed by the Secretary by regulation as 

10 might indicate the eligibility of such tax11 payer for a subsidy under section 1860D– 

12 14 of the Social Security Act, and 

13 ‘‘(v) the taxable year with respect to 

14 which the preceding information relates. 

15 ‘‘(B) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED

16 INFORMATION.—Return information disclosed 

17 under this paragraph may be used by officers 

18 and employees of the Social Security Adminis19 tration only for the purposes of identifying eli20 gible individuals for, and, if applicable, admin21 istering— 

22 ‘‘(i) low-income subsidies under sec23 tion 1860D–14 of the Social Security Act, 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Medicare Savings Program 

2 implemented under clauses (i), (iii), and 

3 (iv) of section 1902(a)(10)(E) of such Act. 

4 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION.—Return information 

5 may not be disclosed under this paragraph after 

6 the date that is one year after the date of the 

7 enactment of this paragraph.’’. 

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Paragraph 

9 (4) of section 6103(p) of the Internal Revenue Code 

10 of 1986 is amended— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘(14) or (17)’’ in the mat12 ter preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting 

13 ‘‘(14), (17), or (21)’’; and 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘(15) or (17)’’ in subpara15 graph (F)(ii) and inserting ‘‘(15), (17), or 

16 (21)’’. 

17 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF RESOURCE STANDARDS FOR DE18 TERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR LOW-IN19 COME SUBSIDY. 

20 (a) INCREASING THE ALTERNATIVE RESOURCE

21 STANDARD.—Section 1860D–14(a)(3)(E)(i) of the Social 

22 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–114(a)(3)(E)(i)) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

25 end; 


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1 (2) in subclause (II)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘a subsequent year’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘2007’’; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘in this subclause (or sub5 clause (I)) for the previous year’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘in subclause (I) for 2006’’; 

7 (C) by striking the period at the end and 

8 inserting a semicolon; and 

9 (D) by inserting before the flush sentence 

10 at the end the following new subclauses: 

11 ‘‘(III) for 2008, $27,500 (or 

12 $55,000 in the case of the combined 

13 value of the individual’s assets or re14 sources and the assets or resources of 

15 the individual’s spouse); and 

16 ‘‘(IV) for a subsequent year the 

17 dollar amounts specified in this sub18 clause (or subclause (III)) for the pre19 vious year increased by the annual 

20 percentage increase in the consumer 

21 price index (all items; U.S. city aver22 age) as of September of such previous 

23 year.’’; and 

24 (3) in the flush sentence at the end, by insert25 ing ‘‘or (IV)’’ after ‘‘subclause (II)’’. 


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1 (b) EXEMPTIONS FROM RESOURCES.—Section 

2 1860D–14(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 1395w–114(a)(3)) is amended— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (D), in the matter pre5 ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘subject to the addi6 tional exclusions provided under subparagraph (G)’’ 

7 before ‘‘)’’; 

8 (2) in subparagraph (E)(i), in the matter pre9 ceding subclause (I), by inserting ‘‘subject to the ad10 ditional exclusions provided under subparagraph 

11 (G)’’ before ‘‘)’’; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(G) ADDITIONAL EXCLUSIONS.—In deter15 mining the resources of an individual (and their 

16 eligible spouse, if any) under section 1613 for 

17 purposes of subparagraphs (D) and (E) the fol18 lowing additional exclusions shall apply: 

19 ‘‘(i) LIFE INSURANCE POLICY.—No 

20 part of the value of any life insurance pol21 icy shall be taken into account. 

22 ‘‘(ii) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—No 

23 in-kind contribution shall be taken into ac24 count. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) PENSION OR RETIREMENT

2 PLAN.—No balance in any pension or re3 tirement plan shall be taken into ac4 count.’’. 

5 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of 

7 this Act. 

8 SEC. 4. INDEXING DEDUCTIBLE AND COST-SHARING ABOVE 

9 ANNUAL OUT-OF-POCKET THRESHOLD FOR 

10 INDIVIDUALS WITH INCOME BELOW 150 PER11 CENT OF POVERTY LINE. 

12 (a) INDEXING DEDUCTIBLE.—Section 1860D– 

13 14(a)(4)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w– 

14 114(a)(4)(B)) is amended— 

15 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’; 

16 (2) in clause (ii)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘a subsequent year’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘2008’’; 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘this clause (or clause (i)) 

20 for the previous year’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (i) 

21 for 2007’’; and 

22 (C) by striking ‘‘involved.’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘involved; and’’; 

24 (3) by adding after clause (ii) the following new 

25 clause: 


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1 ‘‘(iii) for 2008 and each succeeding 

2 year, the amount determined under this 

3 subparagraph for the previous year in4 creased by the annual percentage increase 

5 in the consumer price index (all items; 

6 U.S. city average) as of September of such 

7 previous year.’’; and 

8 (4) in the flush sentence at the end, by striking 

9 ‘‘clause (i) or (ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (i), (ii), or 

10 (iii)’’. 

11 (b) INDEXING COST-SHARING.—Section 1860D– 

12 14(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w– 

13 114(a)) is amended– 

14 (1) in paragraph (1)(D)(iii), by striking ‘‘exceed 

15 the copayment amount’’ and all that follows through 

16 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘exceed— 

17 ‘‘(I) for 2006 and 2007, the co18 payment amount specified under sec19 tion 1860D–2(b)(4)(A)(i)(I) for the 

20 drug and year involved; and 

21 ‘‘(II) for 2008 and each suc22 ceeding year, the amount determined 

23 under this subparagraph for the pre24 vious year increased by the annual 

25 percentage increase in the consumer 


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1 price index (all items; U.S. city aver2 age) as of September of such previous 

3 year.’’; and 

4 (2) in paragraph (2)(E), by striking ‘‘exceed 

5 the copayment or coinsurance amount’’ and all that 

6 follows through the period at the end and inserting 

7 ‘‘exceed— 

8 ‘‘(i) for 2006 and 2007, the copay9 ment or coinsurance amount specified 

10 under section 1860D–2(b)(4)(A)(i)(I) for 

11 the drug and year involved; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) for 2008 and each succeeding 

13 year, the amount determined under this 

14 clause for the previous year increased by 

15 the annual percentage increase in the con16 sumer price index (all items; U.S. city av17 erage) as of September of such previous 

18 year.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. NO IMPACT ON ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS UNDER 

20 OTHER PROGRAMS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1860D–14(a)(3) of the 

22 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–114(a)(3)), as 

23 amended by section 3(c)(3), is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (A), in the matter pre2 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘subparagraph (F)’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (F) and (H)’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(H) NO IMPACT ON ELIGIBILITY FOR

7 BENEFITS UNDER OTHER PROGRAMS.—The 

8 availability of premium and cost-sharing sub9 sidies under this section shall not be treated as 

10 benefits or otherwise taken into account in de11 termining an individual’s eligibility for, or the 

12 amount of benefits under, any other Federal 

13 program.’’. 

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of 

16 this Act. 

Æ 


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