HR 2072 · 109th Congress 2005–2007, ended

Medicare Early Access Act of 2005

Introduced May 4, 2005 Originated House Sponsor Fortney Pete Stark D-CA

Latest action · May 23, 2005 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedMay 4, 2005
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Medicare Early Access Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to add a new part E (Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals 55 to 65 Years of Age).

Provides access to Medicare benefits for individuals 55 to 64 years of age who do not have coverage under a Federal health insurance program or under a group plan.

Requires enrollees to pay a premium to receive Medicare coverage. Requires the Secretary to base the premium on the Secretary's estimate of the average, national annual per capita amount of the cost of providing services to the population.

Allows early retirees with access to retiree coverage to enroll under this part while keeping their Federal or State COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) continuation coverage. Allows an employer that offers employment-based retiree health coverage to an individual who enrolls under this part to modify such coverage to provide for: (1) employer payment of items and services for which payment may not be made under Medicare; and (2) employer payment of 25 percent of the monthly premium applicable to the individual after enrollment.

Creates in the Treasury the Medicare Early Access Trust Fund to hold the premiums collected under this Act and to support the new program.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow program enrollees to receive a 75 percent advance, refundable credit to offset Medicare early access premium costs (thus requiring program enrollees in the Medicare early access program to be responsible for 25 percent of the monthly premiums).

Cosponsors 112

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 4, 2005 to Jun 6, 2006; 97 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-TX	Al Green	Original	May 4, 2005
D-FL	Alcee L. Hastings	Original	May 4, 2005
D-PA	Allyson Y. Schwartz	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Barbara Lee	Original	May 4, 2005
D-TN	Bart Gordon	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MI	Bart Stupak	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MD	Benjamin L. Cardin	Original	May 4, 2005
I-VT	Bernard Sanders	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MN	Betty McCollum	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NJ	Bill Pascrell, Jr.	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NY	Brian Higgins	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MD	C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NY	Carolyn B. Maloney	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MI	Carolyn C. Kilpatrick	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NY	Carolyn McCarthy	Original	May 4, 2005
D-TX	Charles A. Gonzalez	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NY	Charles B. Rangel	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MD	Chris Van Hollen	Original	May 4, 2005
D-FL	Corrine Brown	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MI	Dale E. Kildee	Original	May 4, 2005
D-GA	David Scott	Original	May 4, 2005
D-FL	Debbie Wasserman Schultz	Original	May 4, 2005
D-OH	Dennis J. Kucinich	Original	May 4, 2005
D-VI	Donna M. Christensen	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Doris O. Matsui	Original	May 4, 2005
D-AZ	Ed Pastor	Original	May 4, 2005
D-DC	Eleanor Holmes Norton	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MD	Elijah E. Cummings	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NY	Eliot L. Engel	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MO	Emanuel Cleaver	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NJ	Frank Pallone, Jr.	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NC	G. K. Butterfield	Original	May 4, 2005
D-TX	Gene Green	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	George Miller	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Henry A. Waxman	Original	May 4, 2005
D-TX	Henry Cuellar	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Hilda L. Solis	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MN	James L. Oberstar	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MA	James P. McGovern	Original	May 4, 2005
D-RI	James R. Langevin	Original	May 4, 2005
D-IL	Janice D. Schakowsky	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NY	Jerrold Nadler	Original	May 4, 2005
D-IL	Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.	Original	May 4, 2005
D-WA	Jim McDermott	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Joe Baca	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CT	John B. Larson	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MI	John D. Dingell	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MA	John F. Tierney	Original	May 4, 2005
D-GA	John Lewis	Original	May 4, 2005
D-PA	John P. Murtha	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CO	John T. Salazar	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MA	John W. Olver	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NY	Jose E. Serrano	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NY	Joseph Crowley	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Juanita Millender-McDonald	Original	May 4, 2005
D-IN	Julia Carson	Original	May 4, 2005
D-IL	Lane Evans	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Linda T. Sánchez	Original	May 4, 2005
D-TX	Lloyd Doggett	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Lois Capps	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Lucille Roybal-Allard	Original	May 4, 2005
D-IL	Luis V. Gutierrez	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NY	Major R. Owens	Original	May 4, 2005
D-AR	Marion Berry	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MA	Martin T. Meehan	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NY	Maurice D. Hinchey	Original	May 4, 2005
D-ME	Michael H. Michaud	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Michael M. Honda	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NY	Michael R. McNulty	Original	May 4, 2005
D-AR	Mike Ross	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Nancy Pelosi	Original	May 4, 2005
D-IL	Rahm Emanuel	Original	May 4, 2005
D-AZ	Raúl M. Grijalva	Original	May 4, 2005
D-VA	Robert C. "Bobby" Scott	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NJ	Robert E. Andrews	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NJ	Robert Menendez	Original	May 4, 2005
D-FL	Robert Wexler	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CT	Rosa L. DeLauro	Original	May 4, 2005
D-TX	Ruben Hinojosa	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NJ	Rush Holt	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MO	Russ Carnahan	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Sam Farr	Original	May 4, 2005
D-TX	Sheila Jackson Lee	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NV	Shelley Berkley	Original	May 4, 2005
D-OH	Sherrod Brown	Original	May 4, 2005
D-TX	Silvestre Reyes	Original	May 4, 2005
D-TX	Solomon P. Ortiz	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MD	Steny H. Hoyer	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MA	Stephen F. Lynch	Original	May 4, 2005
D-NY	Steve Israel	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Susan A. Davis	Original	May 4, 2005
D-WI	Tammy Baldwin	Original	May 4, 2005
D-OH	Ted Strickland	Original	May 4, 2005
D-ME	Thomas H. Allen	Original	May 4, 2005
D-OH	Tim Ryan	Original	May 4, 2005
D-CA	Tom Lantos	Original	May 4, 2005
D-LA	William J. Jefferson	Original	May 4, 2005
D-MA	Michael E. Capuano		May 17, 2005
D-HI	Neil Abercrombie		May 17, 2005
D-MO	Wm. Lacy Clay		May 17, 2005
D-CA	Lynn C. Woolsey		Jun 9, 2005
D-NY	Nita M. Lowey		Jun 9, 2005
D-NY	Louise McIntosh Slaughter		Jun 24, 2005
D-MI	John Conyers, Jr.		Dec 14, 2005
D-NY	Anthony D. Weiner		Dec 16, 2005
D-PA	Chaka Fattah		Feb 14, 2006
D-GA	Cynthia A. McKinney		Feb 14, 2006
D-CA	Bob Filner		May 4, 2006
D-IL	Danny K. Davis		May 9, 2006
D-VA	Rick Boucher		May 9, 2006
D-TX	Eddie Bernice Johnson		May 16, 2006
D-PA	Robert A. Brady		Jun 6, 2006

Committees 3

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Ways and Means Committee	Referred May 4, 2005
	Health Subcommittee	Referred May 16, 2005
House	Energy and Commerce Committee	Referred May 4, 2005
	Health Subcommittee	Referred May 23, 2005
House	Education and Workforce Committee	Referred May 4, 2005
	Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee	Referred May 20, 2005

Actions 6

Everything that happened, newest first.

May 23, 2005Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.
May 20, 2005Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.
May 16, 2005Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
May 4, 2005Introduced in House
May 4, 2005Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E862)

Show all 6 actions

In the Congressional Record 1

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

Where	In the Record	Members	Date
Extensions	Debate and remarks E862Summaries E862	Fortney Pete Stark D-CA	May 4, 2005

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
S 3747	Medicare Early Access Act of 2006	Related bill	Jul 27, 2006

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide access to Medicare benefits for individuals ages 55 to 65, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a refundable and advanceable credit against income tax for payment of such premiums, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced: Medicare Early Access Act of 2005

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

May 4, 2005Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.