Bill Sponsor
Senate Bill 1280
116th Congress(2019-2020)
BENES Act of 2019
Introduced
Introduced
Introduced in Senate on May 2, 2019
Overview
Text
Introduced
May 2, 2019
Latest Action
May 2, 2019
Origin Chamber
Senate
Type
Bill
Bill
The primary form of legislative measure used to propose law. Depending on the chamber of origin, bills begin with a designation of either H.R. or S. Joint resolution is another form of legislative measure used to propose law.
Bill Number
1280
Congress
116
Policy Area
Health
Health
Primary focus of measure is science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease; health services administration and funding, including such programs as Medicare and Medicaid; health personnel and medical education; drug use and safety; health care coverage and insurance; health facilities. Measures concerning controlled substances and drug trafficking may fall under Crime and Law Enforcement policy area.
Sponsorship by Party
Senate Votes (0)
House Votes (0)
No Senate votes have been held for this bill.
Summary

Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification Act of 2019 or the BENES Act of 2019

This bill makes a series of changes to, and requires additional notifications regarding, the Medicare enrollment process.

Specifically, the bill changes the Medicare general enrollment period to October 15-December 31, and requires coverage to begin on the first day of the month following enrollment. (Currently, the general enrollment period is January 1-March 31, and coverage begins July 1.) The bill also generally requires coverage to begin on the first day of the month following enrollment for individuals who enroll in the latter months of their initial enrollment period. (Currently, the longer an individual waits to enroll, the more delayed the effective date of coverage.)

The bill also requires Social Security account statements for individuals ages 60 to 64 to include information about Medicare eligibility, late enrollment penalties, coordination of benefits, and special enrollment populations (e.g., veterans).

Text (1)
Actions (2)
05/02/2019
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
05/02/2019
Introduced in Senate
Public Record
Record Updated
Feb 8, 2022 11:21:43 PM