I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1393 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage 
of dental, vision, and hearing care under the Medicare program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2019 
Mr. DOGGETT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
Ways and Means, 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 amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 
for coverage of dental, vision, and hearing care under 
the Medicare program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Medicare Dental, Vi-
sion, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. DENTAL AND ORAL HEALTH CARE. 
(a) COVERAGE.—Section 1861(s)(2) of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(s)(2)) is amended— 
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(1) in subparagraph (GG), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon at the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (HH), by adding ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon at the end; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(II) dental and oral health services (as defined 
in subsection (kkk));’’. 
(b) DENTAL
AND ORAL HEALTH SERVICES DE-
FINED.—Section 1861 of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395x) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘Dental and Oral Health Services 
‘‘(kkk) The term ‘dental and oral health services’ 
means— 
‘‘(1) routine dental cleanings and exams; 
‘‘(2) basic dental services, such as fillings and 
crowns; 
‘‘(3) major dental services, such as root canals, 
and extractions; 
‘‘(4) emergency dental care; and 
‘‘(5) other necessary services related to dental 
or oral health (as defined by the Secretary).’’. 
(c) PAYMENT; COINSURANCE; AND LIMITATIONS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1833(a)(1) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(a)(1)) is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘(CC)’’; and 
(B) by inserting before the semicolon at 
the end the following: ‘‘, and (DD) with respect 
to dental and oral health services (as defined in 
section 1861(jjj)), the amount paid shall be the 
payment 
amount 
specified 
under 
section 
1834(v)’’. 
(2) PAYMENT AND LIMITS SPECIFIED.—Section 
1834 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(x) PAYMENT AND LIMITS FOR DENTAL AND ORAL 
HEALTH SERVICES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The payment amount 
under this part for dental and oral health services 
(as defined in section 1861(kkk)) shall be, subject to 
paragraph (3), the applicable percent (specified in 
paragraph (2)) of the lesser of the actual charge for 
the services or the amount determined under the 
payment basis determined under section 1848. 
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‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PERCENT.—For purposes of 
paragraph (1), the applicable percent specified in 
this paragraph is— 
‘‘(A) for the first year beginning at least 6 
months after the date of the enactment of this 
subsection, 0 percent; 
‘‘(B) for the year following the year speci-
fied in subparagraph (A) and each subsequent 
year through the seventh year following the 
year specified in subparagraph (A), the applica-
ble percent specified in this paragraph for the 
previous year increased by 10 percentage 
points; and 
‘‘(C) for the eighth year following the year 
specified in subparagraph (A) and each subse-
quent year, 80 percent. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS AND SECRETARIAL AUTHOR-
ITY.— 
‘‘(A) FREQUENCY.—With respect to dental 
and oral health services that are— 
‘‘(i) routine dental cleanings, payment 
may be made under this part for only two 
such cleanings during a 12-month period; 
and 
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