[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5116 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5116

  To amend title II of the Social Security Act to waive the 24-month 
   waiting period for Medicare coverage of individuals disabled with 
                         distant stage cancer.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 21, 2004

 Mr. Pallone introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title II of the Social Security Act to waive the 24-month 
   waiting period for Medicare coverage of individuals disabled with 
                         distant stage cancer.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``The Dean Gallo 
Cancer Patient Compassion Act of 2004''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) It is estimated that over 1,300,000 new cases of cancer 
        are diagnosed each year.
            (2) Roughly, 86,000 or 7 percent of all diagnosed cancer 
        patents have no health insurance.
            (3) Lung and colorectal cancers alone account for over a 
        quarter of all new cases of cancer.
            (4) The 5-year survival rate for individuals with distant 
        stage lung cancers is 3 percent.
            (5) The 5-year survival rate for individuals with distant 
        stage colorectal cancer is 9 percent.
            (6) Individuals suffering from cancer must wait 24 months 
        for medicare eligibility on the basis of disability.

SEC. 2. WAIVER OF 24-MONTH WAITING PERIOD FOR MEDICARE COVERAGE OF 
              INDIVIDUALS DISABLED WITH CANCER.

    (a) In General.--Section 226(h) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 426(h)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), as 
        subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively;
            (2) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(h)'';
            (3) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) of paragraph 
        (1), as so redesignated, by striking ``an individual medically 
        determined to have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)'' and 
        inserting ``an individual described in paragraph (2)''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), an individual 
        described in this paragraph is any of the following:
                    ``(A) An individual medically determined to have 
                amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
                    ``(B) An individual medically determined to have 
                stage III or IV cancer who is not enrolled, or who may 
                not be enrolled, in a group health plan described in 
                section 1862(b)(1)(A)(v), or a large group health plan 
                described in section 1862(b)(1)(B)(iii), by reason of 
                the individual's current or former employment or by 
                reason of the current or former employment status of a 
                member of the individual's family.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to benefits for months beginning after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
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