WASHINGTON — With a growing number of Americans aging into Medicare, U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Todd Young, R-Ind., introduced a bipartisan bill to simplify complex Medicare enrollment rules.
The Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act would eliminate needless gaps in health care coverage and help prevent lifetime, late-enrollment penalties. Today, almost 760,000 Americans are paying these penalties, increasing their Medicare Part B premiums by an average of almost 30 percent.
U.S. Reps. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., and Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., have introduced a bipartisan companion bill in the House.
“With more than 10,000 Americans turning age 65 every day and becoming eligible for Medicare, we need to simplify and improve the enrollment process,” Casey said. “The BENES Act would inform people new to Medicare about their responsibilities, helping to prevent costly penalties and eliminate gaps in coverage.”
Casey’s office said the BENES Act would direct the federal government to provide advance notice to individuals approaching Medicare eligibility about basic Medicare enrollment rules, filling a long-standing gap in education for older adults and people with disabilities.
The BENES Act would also eliminate needless multi-month coverage gaps in Medicare enrollment periods and align Medicare Part B enrollment periods with those in private Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans.
