Medicare Beneficiary Assistance Improvement Act

Bill: 109-s-1808
Sponsor: Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM]
Introduced: 2005-09-30 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Coinsurance
Collection of accounts
Computer matching
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Economics and Public Finance
Electronic data interchange
Electronic government information
Estates (Law)
Federal-state relations
Finance and Financial Sector
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publications
Government publicity
Grants-in-aid
Health
Insurance premiums
Intergovernmental fiscal relations
Law
Medicaid
Medical economics
Medicare
Names
Science, Technology, Communications
Supplemental security income program
Welfare eligibility
Welfare recipients

Summary:
action_date: 2005-09-30
text: 
Medicare Beneficiary Assistance Improvement Act - Renames the benefit programs for lower income Medicare beneficiaries under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA), commonly referred to as the &quot;qualified Medicare beneficiary (QMB) program&quot; and the &quot;special low-income Medicare beneficiary (SLMB) program,&quot; as the Medicare Savings Programs.
 
Amends SSA title XIX with respect to Medicare Savings Programs to: (1) increase the SLMB eligibility income level from 120% to 135% of the poverty line; (2) deem to be qualified Medicare beneficiaries in certain states individuals already receiving benefits under SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI); (3) permit individual self-certification of income and use of a simplified QMB or SLMB application form; (4) provide for automatic reenrollment; (5) direct the Commissioner of Social Security to provide for QMB and SLMB outreach through local offices of the Social Security Administration; (6) eliminate the assets test; (7) prohibit estate recovery under QMB and SLMB; and (8) provide for three months retroactive eligibility with respect to Medicare cost-sharing for QMBs.
 
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Administrator of Social Security to arrange for a demonstration project to identify Medicare beneficiaries who are likely, based on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data, to qualify for benefits under the QMB or SLMB programs, or to be entitled to a premium or cost-sharing subsidy for low-income individuals under the Medicare prescription drug program. Requires the Secretary to enter into a demonstration project to provide states with funds to use such information to do ex parte determinations or utilize other methods for identifying and enrolling potentially eligible individuals.
 
Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to send a notice and application for Medicaid benefits to individuals identified as likely to be eligible for QMB or SLMB benefits, or entitled to a premium and cost-sharing subsidy for low-income individuals under the Medicare prescription drug program, when notifying them of their eligibility for Medicare benefits.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-09-30
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S10803-10805)
action_date: 2005-09-30
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S10802-10803)
action_date: 2005-09-30
text: Introduced in Senate