Protecting Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2015
Latest action · Oct 7, 2015 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
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 7, 2015
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Protecting Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2015
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) prevent 2016 increases to Medicare Part B premiums and deductibles for enrollees, and (2) authorize federal funding to offset the corresponding reduction in aggregate monthly premiums.
Under current law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must annually determine the monthly actuarial rate upon which Part B premiums and deductibles are based. The bill temporarily freezes that rate at the 2015 level for enrollees, effectively preventing increases to premiums and deductibles for those enrollees in 2016. (Current law already protects Part B enrollees whose benefits are deducted from their Social Security benefits from premium increases that would result in a smaller Social Security check.)
Cosponsors 33
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Oct 7, 2015 to Dec 15, 2015; 20 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Al Franken | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| I-ME | Angus S. King Jr. | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-MD | Barbara A. Mikulski | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-DE | Thomas R. Carper | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-NM | Tom Udall | Original | Oct 7, 2015 |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Oct 8, 2015 | |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Oct 8, 2015 | |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Oct 19, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Boxer | Oct 20, 2015 | |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Oct 20, 2015 | |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Oct 20, 2015 | |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Oct 21, 2015 | |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Oct 21, 2015 | |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Oct 26, 2015 | |
| D-MT | Jon Tester | Oct 26, 2015 | |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Oct 27, 2015 | |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Oct 29, 2015 | |
| D-NM | Martin Heinrich | Dec 15, 2015 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Finance Committee | Referred Oct 7, 2015 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 7, 2015Introduced in Senate
- Oct 7, 2015Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
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.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 2
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 2
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R40082 | Medicare Part B: Enrollment and Premiums | Report | May 19, 2022 |
| R44224 | Potential Impact of No Social Security COLA on Medicare Part B Premiums in 2016 Archived | Report | Nov 16, 2015 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3696 | Medicare Premium Fairness Act of 2015 | Related bill | Oct 9, 2015 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to prevent an increase in the Medicare part B premium and deductible in 2016.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Protecting Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 7, 2015Introduced 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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
