Strengthening Medicare And Repaying Taxpayers Act of 2011
Latest action · Oct 17, 2011 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6602-6603)
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.
- IntroducedOct 17, 2011
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Strengthening Medicare And Repaying Taxpayers Act of 2011- Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to any settlement, judgment, award, or other payment between a Medicare claimant and an applicable plan involving a payment made for items and services by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Declares that, in the case of a payment to the claimant by the Secretary, and beginning 120 days before the reasonably expected date of a settlement, judgment, award, or other payment, the claimant or applicable plan may at any time but only once: (1) notify the Secretary that a payment is reasonably expected, and (2) request a statement of the conditional payment reimbursement amount for any payments subject to the required reimbursement.
Requires the Secretary to respond to such a request, within 65 days after receiving it, with a statement of reimbursement amount.
Prescribes procedures for the claimant, an applicable plan, or specified related entities to follow if the Secretary fails to provide such a statement.
Specifies circumstances: (1) in which the claimant, an applicable plan, or specified related entities are shielded from liability for certain payments; and (2) in which the Secretary shall be exempt from any obligation for a statement of reimbursement.
Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations establishing a right of appeal and appeals process, with respect to any determination for a payment made under such title for an item or service under a primary plan, under which the applicable plan involved, or an attorney, agent, or third party administrator on behalf of such applicable play, may appeal such determination.
Exempts a primary plan, and an entity receiving payment from a primary plan, from any obligation to reimburse the appropriate Trust Fund for a Medicare payment by the Secretary with respect to any settlement, judgment, award, or other payment by an applicable plan constituting a total payment obligation to a claimant of not more than the single threshold amount calculated by the Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Requires the Chief Actuary to calculate and publish the single threshold amount annually.
Makes discretionary rather than mandatory the current civil money penalty for an applicable plan's noncompliance with requirements to submit insurance information about a claimant. Requires the severity of each penalty to be based on the knowing, willful, and repeated nature of the violation.
Prescribes requirements for the specification of practices for which sanctions will not be imposed on a plan (safe harbors).
Directs the Secretary to modify insurance information reporting requirements so that a plan, in complying with them, is permitted but not required to access or report beneficiary Social Security account numbers or health identification claim numbers.
Sets a three-year statute of limitations on a Medicare secondary payer claim by the Secretary for reimbursement against an applicable plan that becomes a Medicare primary payer pursuant to a settlement, judgment, award, or other judicial action.
Cosponsors 23
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Oct 17, 2011 to Nov 28, 2012, with 3 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NE | Ben Nelson | Original | Oct 17, 2011 |
| R-NC | Richard Burr | Original | Oct 17, 2011 |
| R-OH | Rob Portman | Original | Oct 17, 2011 |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | Oct 19, 2011 | |
| R-SD | John Thune | Oct 20, 2011 | |
| R-SC | Lindsey Graham | Oct 31, 2011 | |
| R-ID | Mike Crapo | Oct 31, 2011 | |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Oct 31, 2011 | |
| R-ID | James E. Risch | Nov 3, 2011 | |
| D-NC | Kay R. Hagan | Nov 9, 2011 | |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Nov 10, 2011 | |
| R-IL | Mark Kirk | Dec 5, 2011 | |
| D-AR | Mark L. Pryor | Dec 7, 2011 | |
| R-MO | Roy Blunt | Mar 26, 2012 | |
| R-MS | Roger F. Wicker | Mar 29, 2012 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 17, 2011Introduced in Senate
- Oct 17, 2011Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6602-6603)
- Oct 17, 2011Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6602)
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 1063 | Strengthening Medicare And Repaying Taxpayers Act of 2012 | Identical bill | Dec 20, 2012 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 17, 2011Introduced in Senate
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.