Title: Enhancing Retirement Security for Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2019
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Enhancing Retirement Security for Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2019
This bill alters certain financial standards that are used to determine eligibility for the low-income subsidy program under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Specifically, the bill excludes certain retirement plans from eligibility determinations.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4655 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4655

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for certain 
     rules regarding the treatment of eligible retirement plans in 
determining the eligibility of individuals for premium and cost-sharing 
subsidies under part D of the Medicare program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 11, 2019

  Mrs. Lee of Nevada (for herself, Mr. Delgado, and Ms. Clarke of New 
    York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee 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 certain 
     rules regarding the treatment of eligible retirement plans in 
determining the eligibility of individuals for premium and cost-sharing 
subsidies under part D of the Medicare program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Enhancing Retirement Security for 
Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. PROVIDING FOR CERTAIN RULES REGARDING THE TREATMENT OF ELIGIBLE 
              RETIREMENT PLANS IN DETERMINING THE ELIGIBILITY OF 
              INDIVIDUALS FOR PREMIUM AND COST-SHARING SUBSIDIES UNDER 
              PART D OF THE MEDICARE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 1860D-14(a)(3) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395w-114(a)(3)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ``subparagraph 
        (D)'' and inserting ``subparagraph (D)(i)'';
            (2) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking ``except that 
        support and maintenance furnished in kind shall not be counted 
        as income; and'' and inserting ``except that--
                                    ``(I) support and maintenance 
                                furnished in kind shall not be counted 
                                as income; and
                                    ``(II) any distribution or 
                                withdrawal from an eligible retirement 
                                plan (as defined in subparagraph (B) of 
                                section 402(c)(8) of the Internal 
                                Revenue Code of 1986, but excluding any 
                                defined benefit plan described in 
                                clause (iv) or (v) of such subparagraph 
                                and any qualified trust (as defined in 
                                subparagraph (A) of such section) which 
                                is part of such a defined benefit plan) 
                                shall be counted as income; and'';
            (3) in subparagraph (D)--
                    (A) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 
                subclauses (I) and (II), respectively, and moving the 
                margin of each such subclause, as so redesignated, 2 
                ems to the right;
                    (B) by striking ``The resources requirement'' and 
                inserting the following:
                            ``(i) In general.--The resources 
                        requirement'';
                    (C) by striking ``subject to the life insurance 
                policy exclusion'' and inserting ``, subject to the 
                exclusions'';
                    (D) by aligning the margin of the flush sentence at 
                the end with the margin of clause (i), as added by 
                subparagraph (B); and
                    (E) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(ii) Application of resource standard 
                        with respect to certain beneficiaries.--In 
                        applying the resources requirement of this 
                        subparagraph under section 1905(p)(1)(C), such 
                        requirement shall be applied without regard to 
                        the exclusions provided under subparagraph 
                        (G).'';
            (4) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``subject to the life 
        insurance policy exclusion'' and inserting ``, subject to the 
        exclusions''; and
            (5) in subparagraph (G)--
                    (A) in the subparagraph heading, by striking ``Life 
                insurance policy exclusion'' and inserting ``Resource 
                exclusions''; and
                    (B) by striking ``for purposes of subparagraphs (D) 
                and (E) no part of the value of any life insurance 
                policy shall be taken into account.'' and inserting 
                ``for purposes of subparagraphs (D)(i) and (E), the 
                following exclusions shall apply:
                            ``(i) Life insurance policy.--No part of 
                        the value of any life insurance policy shall be 
                        taken into account.
                            ``(ii) Eligible retirement plan.--No 
                        balance in any eligible retirement plan (as 
                        described in subparagraph (C)(i)(II)) shall be 
                        taken into acount.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2022.
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