[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4797 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4797

To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to direct the Commissioner 
of Social Security to conduct outreach efforts to increase awareness of 
 the availability of Medicare cost-sharing assistance to eligible low-
                     income Medicare beneficiaries.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 29, 2000

  Mr. Lewis of Kentucky (for himself and Mr. Fletcher) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 
   and in addition to the Committee on Commerce, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to direct the Commissioner 
of Social Security to conduct outreach efforts to increase awareness of 
 the availability of Medicare cost-sharing assistance to eligible low-
                     income Medicare beneficiaries.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Low-Income Widows Assistance Act of 
2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Since 1988, 3 cost-sharing payment programs that 
        provide certain low-income elderly and disabled individuals 
        with financial assistance in covering medicare beneficiary 
        costs under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1395 et seq.) have been established by law.
            (2) While eligibility for medicare cost-sharing assistance 
        has expanded, and while the Social Security Administration, the 
        Health Care Financing Administration, and State agencies are 
        working cooperatively to identify and implement reforms to cure 
        the chronic deficiencies associated with the programs described 
        in paragraph (1), reports have shown that gaps in beneficiary 
        knowledge and deficiencies in program administration by Federal 
        and State agencies present persistent barriers to enrolling 
        eligible beneficiaries in such programs.
            (3) The financial plight of social security and medicare 
        beneficiaries who experience critical income shifts due to the 
        death of a spouse is of particular concern. Statistics 
        furnished by the Social Security Administration show that 40 
        percent of nonmarried women (a category that includes widows) 
        rely on social security benefits for 90 percent of their income 
        in comparison to only 18 percent of married couples. Further, 
        nearly \1/4\ of nonmarried women rely on social security 
        retirement benefits as their sole source of income.
            (4) While current reform proposals concentrate on reaching 
        potential eligible beneficiaries upon initial enrollment in 
        social security or medicare, the financial vulnerability of 
        widowed spouses can arise at any time after a senior has begun 
        to receive retirement benefits.
            (5) Nearly every legislative proposal to provide an 
        outpatient prescription drug benefit under the medicare program 
        would provide additional financial assistance to medicare 
        beneficiaries who currently qualify for assistance under 
        medicare cost-sharing programs.

SEC. 3. OUTREACH EFFORTS.

    (a) In General.--Title XI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1143 the following 
new section:

    ``outreach efforts to increase awareness of the availability of 
                         medicare cost-sharing

    ``Sec. 1144. (a) Outreach.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Commissioner of Social Security (in 
        this section referred to as the `Commissioner') shall conduct 
        outreach efforts to--
                    ``(A) identify individuals entitled to benefits 
                under the medicare program under title XVIII who may be 
                eligible for medical assistance for payment of the cost 
                of medicare cost-sharing under the medicaid program 
                pursuant to sections 1902(a)(10)(E) and 1933; and
                    ``(B) notify such individuals of the availability 
                of such medical assistance under such sections.
            ``(2) Content of notice.--Any notice furnished under 
        paragraph (1) shall state that eligibility for medicare cost-
        sharing assistance under such sections is conditioned upon the 
        individual providing an accurate statement as to whether or not 
        the individual has tax-exempt income, and, if so, the amount of 
        such income and, in the case of an individual residing in a 
        State that imposes an asset test for such eligibility, the 
        amount of countable assets the individual has.
    ``(b) Coordination With States.--
            ``(1) In general.--In conducting the outreach efforts under 
        this section, the Commissioner shall--
                    ``(A) furnish the appropriate agency of each State 
                with information consisting of the identity of 
                individuals residing in the State that the Commissioner 
                determines are or may be eligible for medical 
                assistance for payment of the cost of medicare cost-
                sharing under the medicaid program pursuant to sections 
                1902(a)(10)(E) and 1933; and
                    ``(B) update any such information not less 
                frequently than once per year.
            ``(2) Information in periodic updates.--The periodic 
        updates described in paragraph (1)(B) shall include information 
        on individuals who are or may be eligible for the medical 
        assistance described in paragraph (1)(A) because such 
        individuals have experienced reductions in benefits under title 
        II.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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