S. 236 · 113th Congress
Medicare Patient Empowerment Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 113th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
R
MurkowskiSponsor5 cosponsors · 5 R
3 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Medicare Patient Empowerment Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow any Medicare beneficiary to enter into a contract with a non-participating (as well as with a participating) physician or practitioner for any item or service covered by Medicare.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Feb 7, 2013
Medicare Patient Empowerment Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow any Medicare beneficiary to enter into a contract with a non-participating (as well as with a participating) physician or practitioner for any item or service covered by Medicare. Allows such beneficiaries to submit a claim for Medicare payment in the amount that would otherwise apply if the claim had been filed by a participating physician or practitioner in the payment area where the physician or practitioner covered by the contract resides.
Requires a Medicare beneficiary to agree in writing in such a contract to: (1) pay the physician or practitioner for a Medicare-covered item or service; and (2) submit (in lieu of the physician or practitioner) a claim for Medicare payment. Allows a beneficiary, however, to negotiate, as a term of the contract, for the physician or practitioner to file such claims on the beneficiary's behalf.
Preempts state laws from limiting the amount of charges for physician and practitioner services for which Medicare payment is made.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Medicare Patient Empowerment Act
Latest action (Feb 7, 2013): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Policy area: Health · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Feb 7, 2013
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.