[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1798 Introduced in Senate (IS)]


109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 1798

  To amend titles XI and XVIII of the Social Security Act to prohibit 
outbound call telemarketing to individuals eligible to receive benefits 
                     under title XVIII of such Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2005

    Mr. Corzine (for himself, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Lautenberg, and Ms. 
   Stabenow) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend titles XI and XVIII of the Social Security Act to prohibit 
outbound call telemarketing to individuals eligible to receive benefits 
                     under title XVIII of such Act.

    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 Do Not Call Act''.

SEC. 2. TELEMARKETING PROHIBITED.

    (a) Prescription Drug Plans.--Section 1860D-4(a) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-l04(a)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) Prohibition on telemarketing.
                    ``(A) In general.--A PDP sponsor offering a 
                prescription drug plan shall be prohibited from 
                conducting outbound call telemarketing (as defined in 
                subparagraph (B)) for the purpose of soliciting 
                enrollment into such a plan under this part.
                    ``(B) Outbound call telemarketing defined.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (ii), for purposes of this paragraph, 
                        the term `outbound call telemarketing' means a 
                        telephone call initiated by a telemarketer--
                                    ``(I) to induce the purchase of 
                                goods or services; or
                                    ``(II) to solicit a charitable 
                                contribution.
                            ``(ii) Catalog mailings not included in 
                        definition of outbound call telemarketing.--
                        Such term does not include--
                                    ``(I) the mailing of a catalog; or
                                    ``(II) the receipt or return of a 
                                telephone call initiated by a customer 
                                in response to such mailing.''.
    (b) Medicare Advantage Organizations.--Section 1851(h) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-21(h)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph:
            ``(6) Prohibition on telemarketing.--A Medicare Advantage 
        organization offering a Medicare Advantage plan shall be 
        prohibited from conducting outbound call telemarketing (as 
        defined in section 1860D-4(a)(5)(B)) for the purpose of 
        soliciting enrollment into such a plan under this part.''.
    (c) Criminal Penalties for Fraudulent Telemarketing.--Section 1128B 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g) Whoever knowingly and willfully engages in deceptive or 
abusive telemarketing acts or practices (as defined in part 310.3 and 
part 310.4, respectively, of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations), or 
makes any false , statement or representation of a material fact while 
conducting outbound call telemarketing (as defined in section 1860D-
4(a)(5)(B)) with respect to a prescription drug plan offered by a PDP 
sponsor under part D of title XVIII, a Medicare Advantage plan offered 
by a Medicare Advantage organization under part C of such title, or who 
falsely alleges to be conducting outbound call telemarketing (as so 
defined) with respect to either such a plan, shall be guilty of a 
felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than $25,000 
or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. INCREASED FUNDING FOR STATE HEALTH INSURANCE COUNSELING AND 
              ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--There are hereby appropriated to the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services (in this Act referred to as the 
``Secretary'') an amount equal to $2 multiplied by the total number of 
individuals eligible for benefits under title XVIII of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.). Such funds shall--
            (1) be used by the Secretary to award grants to States 
        under section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
        1990 (42 U.S.C. 1395b-4); and
            (2) remain available until expended.
    (b) Allocation of Grant Funds.--The Secretary shall ensure that 
funds appropriated under this section are allocated to States in an 
amount equal to the proportion of the number of residents in the State 
that are eligible for benefits under title XVIII of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) in relation to the total number of 
individuals eligible for such benefits under such title.

SEC. 4. INFORMING BENEFICIARIES OF THE HHS TIPS HOT-LINE.

    The Secretary shall take appropriate measures to inform individuals 
eligible for benefits under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) of the availability and confidentiality of the 
hotline maintained by the Inspector General of the Department of Health 
and Human Services for the reporting of fraud, waste, and abuse in the 
medicare program.
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