Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2021
Latest action · Oct 20, 2021 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 20, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2021
This bill establishes several requirements and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.
Specifically, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards, including the ability to provide real-time decisions in response to requests for items and services that are routinely approved; (2) annually publish specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.
Cosponsors 52
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Oct 20, 2021 to Dec 14, 2022; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-SD | John Thune | Original | Oct 20, 2021 |
| I-AZ | Kyrsten Sinema | Original | Oct 20, 2021 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Oct 20, 2021 |
| D-AZ | Mark Kelly | Nov 4, 2021 | |
| R-SD | Mike Rounds | Nov 4, 2021 | |
| R-LA | Bill Cassidy | Nov 18, 2021 | |
| D-DE | Thomas R. Carper | Nov 18, 2021 | |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Dec 15, 2021 | |
| R-ME | Susan M. Collins | Dec 15, 2021 | |
| R-AR | John Boozman | Dec 16, 2021 | |
| D-MN | Tina Smith | Dec 16, 2021 | |
| R-MS | Cindy Hyde-Smith | Jan 18, 2022 | |
| D-MT | Jon Tester | Jan 18, 2022 | |
| R-NC | Thom Tillis | Jan 18, 2022 | |
| R-ND | Kevin Cramer | Jan 31, 2022 | |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Jan 31, 2022 | |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | Feb 8, 2022 | |
| R-IN | Mike Braun | Feb 8, 2022 | |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Mar 15, 2022 | |
| R-MO | Josh Hawley | Mar 15, 2022 | |
| R-TN | Marsha Blackburn | Mar 15, 2022 | |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Mar 15, 2022 | |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | May 2, 2022 | |
| R-WV | Shelley Moore Capito | May 2, 2022 | |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | May 17, 2022 | |
| R-KS | Jerry Moran | May 17, 2022 | |
| R-ND | John Hoeven | May 17, 2022 | |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | May 17, 2022 | |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | May 24, 2022 | |
| D-VA | Tim Kaine | May 24, 2022 | |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Jun 8, 2022 | |
| R-MS | Roger F. Wicker | Jun 8, 2022 | |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Jun 13, 2022 | |
| R-WY | Cynthia M. Lummis | Jun 13, 2022 | |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Jul 12, 2022 | |
| R-AK | Lisa Murkowski | Jul 12, 2022 | |
| R-FL | Rick Scott | Jul 12, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Jul 28, 2022 | |
| R-FL | Marco Rubio | Jul 28, 2022 | |
| D-NM | Martin Heinrich | Sep 7, 2022 | |
| R-OK | James Lankford | Sep 13, 2022 | |
| R-LA | John Kennedy | Sep 13, 2022 | |
| R-OH | Rob Portman | Sep 14, 2022 | |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Sep 22, 2022 | |
| D-CO | John W. Hickenlooper | Sep 22, 2022 | |
| R-NE | Deb Fischer | Nov 14, 2022 | |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Nov 14, 2022 | |
| D-NH | Margaret Wood Hassan | Nov 14, 2022 | |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Nov 16, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Alex Padilla | Dec 14, 2022 | |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Dec 14, 2022 | |
| D-NV | Jacky Rosen | Dec 14, 2022 |
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 20, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 20, 2021Introduced in Senate
- Oct 20, 2021Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
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.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 117-387 | MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS: RESPONDING TO THE GROWING CRISIS122 pages | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Feb 1, 2022 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3173 | Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2022 | Identical bill | Sep 15, 2022 |
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 establish requirements with respect to the use of prior authorization under Medicare Advantage plans, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 20, 2021Introduced 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.
