1.This Act may be cited as the
Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act
of 2012
.
2.Prohibition of
inclusion of Social Security account numbers on Medicare cards
(a)Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C.
405(c)(2)(C)) is amended—
(1)by moving clause (x), as added by section
1414(a)(2) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2 ems to the
left;
(2)by redesignating clause (x), as added by
section 2(a)(1) of the Social Security Number Protection Act of 2010, and
clause (xi) as clauses (xi) and (xii), respectively; and
(3)by adding at the
end the following new clause:
(xiii)The Secretary
of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social
Security, shall establish cost-effective procedures to ensure that a Social
Security account number (or derivative thereof) is not displayed, coded, or
embedded on the Medicare card issued to an individual who is entitled to
benefits under part A of title XVIII or enrolled under part B of title XVIII
and that any other identifier displayed on such card is not identifiable as a
Social Security account number (or derivative
thereof).
.
(b)In implementing clause (xiii) of section
205(c)(2)(C) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)), as added by
subsection (a)(3), the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish a
cost-effective process that involves the least amount of disruption to Medicare
beneficiaries and health care providers. The Secretary shall consider
implementing a process, similar to the process involving Railroad Retirement
Board beneficiaries, under which a Medicare beneficiary identifier which is not
a Social Security account number (or derivative thereof) is used external to
the Department of Health and Human Services and is convertible over to a Social
Security account number (or derivative thereof) for use internal to such
Department and the Social Security Administration.
(c)
(1)Clause (xiii) of
section 205(c)(2)(C) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)), as added by
subsection (a)(3), shall apply with respect to Medicare cards issued on and
after an effective date specified by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, but in no case shall such effective date be later than the date that
is 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2)The Secretary—
(A)shall provide for
the reissuance of Medicare cards that comply with the requirements of such
clause not later than 3 years after the effective date specified by the
Secretary under paragraph (1); and
(B)may permit an
individual to apply for the reissuance of a Medicare card that complies with
such requirements before the date of reissuance otherwise provided under
subparagraph (A) in such exceptional circumstances as the Secretary may
specify.
(d)
(1)Amounts in the Medicare Improvement Fund under section 1898
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395iii) that are
available for expenditures from the Fund for services furnished in a fiscal
year (through fiscal year 2020) shall be available for transfer to the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services Program Management Account as the
Secretary of Health and Human Services determines necessary to offset the costs
incurred by the Secretary (including costs under the agreement described in
paragraph (2)(A)) in such fiscal year (or a previous fiscal year) in
implementing clause (xiii) of section 205(c)(2)(C) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
405(c)(2)(C)), as added by subsection (a)(3), and this
section.
(2)Availability of
funding for the Social Security Administration
(A)The Commissioner of
Social Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall enter into
and maintain an agreement which shall—
(i)provide funds to
the Commissioner, at scheduled intervals as specified in the agreement, for the
full costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner under this section;
and
(ii)require an annual
accounting and reconciliation of the actual costs incurred and the funds
provided under the agreement.
(B)Amounts transferred to the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services Program Management Account under paragraph (1) shall be
available to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out the
agreement under subparagraph (A) and the Secretary shall provide funds to the
Commissioner as required under such agreement.
(e)
(1)Accounting of
expendituresThe Secretary of
Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of Social Security shall—
(A)keep a detailed
accounting of expenditures associated with the implementation of such clause
and this section; and
(B)submit a report on
such expenditures to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the Comptroller
General of the United States, on a semi-annual basis, in each of fiscal years
2013 through 2021.
(2)The Comptroller General shall conduct a
semi-annual financial audit of the expenditures of the Department of Health and
Human Services and of the Social Security Administration during such fiscal
years in implementing such clause and this section. Each such audit shall
include an examination of whether funds made available under subsection (d) are
used solely for the purpose described in such subsection.
3.Medicare smart
card technology study and report
(a)The Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct a study that examines whether the Medicare program should
use smart card technology for Medicare beneficiary cards and for provider
membership cards.
(b)Such study shall include an examination of the
following:
(1)Potential levels of provider investment
required to use cards with such technology in various care settings.
(2)Systems-related
and implementation-related costs to the Medicare program to use such
technology.
(3)The extent to
which private insurance companies have adopted or considered such technology
and their reasons for adoption or non-adoption of such technology.
(4)The extent to
which use of cards with such technology would—
(A)reduce the potential for identity theft and
other unlawful use of Medicare beneficiary and provider identifying
information;
(B)increase the
quality of care furnished to Medicare beneficiaries;
(C)improve the
accuracy and efficiency in the billing for Medicare items and services
furnished by Medicare providers;
(D)reduce waste,
fraud, and abuse in the Medicare program; and
(E)impact the ability
of Medicare beneficiaries to access services.
(c)Not
later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller
General shall submit to the Committees on Ways and Means and Energy and
Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the
Senate a report on the study conducted under this section. Such report may
include recommendations regarding the use of smart card technology under the
Medicare program.
Passed the House of
Representatives December 20, 2012.
Karen L. Haas,
Clerk