[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 617 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 617

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage 
under the medicare program of insulin pumps as items of durable medical 
                               equipment.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 15, 1999

  Ms. Collins introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage 
under the medicare program of insulin pumps as items of durable medical 
                               equipment.

    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 ``Medicare Insulin Pump Coverage Act 
of 1999''.

SEC. 2. COVERAGE OF INSULIN PUMPS UNDER MEDICARE.

    (a) Inclusion as Item of Durable Medical Equipment.--Section 
1861(n) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(n)) is amended by 
inserting before the semicolon the following: ``, and includes insulin 
infusion pumps (as defined in subsection (uu)) prescribed by the 
physician of an individual with Type I diabetes who is experiencing 
severe swings of high and low blood glucose levels and has successfully 
completed a training program that meets standards established by the 
Secretary or who has used such a pump without interruption for at least 
18 months immediately before enrollment under part B''.
    (b) Definition of Insulin Infusion Pump.--Section 1861 of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

                        ``Insulin Infusion Pump

    ``(uu) The term `insulin infusion pump' means an infusion pump, 
approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration, that provides for 
the computerized delivery of insulin for individuals with diabetes in 
lieu of multiple daily manual insulin injections.''.
    (c) Payment for Supplies Relating to Infusion Pumps.--Section 
1834(a)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(a)(2)(A)) is 
amended--
            (1) in clause (ii), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in clause (iii), by inserting ``or'' at the end; and
            (3) by inserting after clause (iii) the following:
                            ``(iv) which is an accessory used in 
                        conjunction with an insulin infusion pump (as 
                        defined in section 1861(uu)),''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to items of durable medical equipment furnished 
under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) 
on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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