,,ii #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cfge ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #ag1 #bjbb,mr4 ,casey 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,young1 ,ms4 ,stabenow1 ,ms4 ,collins1 ,ms4 ,sinema1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,south ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,brown1 and ,ms4 ,smith7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend title ,,xviii of the ,social ,security ,act to establish a system to notify individuals approaching ,medicare eligibility4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,beneficiary ,enrollment ,notification and ,eligibility ,simplification #b4j ,act or the ,,benes #b4j ,act4 #b4 ,beneficiary enrollment notification and eligibility simplification 7a7 ,eligibility and enrollment notices 7#a7 ,as part of social security account statement for individuals attaining ages #fj to #fe 7,a7 ,in general ,section #aadc7;a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;b-#ac7;a77 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#d7 ,medicare eligibility information 7,a7 ,in general ,in the case of statements provided on or after the date that is #b years after the date of the enactment of this paragraph to individuals who are attaining ages #fj1 #fa1 #fb1 #fc1 #fd and #fe1 the statement shall also include a notice containing the information described in subparagraph 7,b74 7,b7 ,contents of notice ,the notice required under subparagraph 7,a7 shall include a clear1 simple explanation of-- 7i7 eligibility for benefits under the ,medicare program under title ,,xviii1 and in particular benefits under part ,b of such title2 7ii7 the reasons a late enrollment penalty for failure to timely enroll could be assessed and how such late enrollment penalty is calculated1 in particular for benefits under such part ,b2 7iii7 the availability of relief from such late enrollment penalty and retroactive enrollment under section #ahcg7;h7 7including as such section is applied under sections #ahah7;c7 and #ahah;,a7c77#c771 with examples of circumstances under which such relief may be granted and examples of circumstances under which such relief would not be granted2 7iv7 coordination of benefits 7including primary and secondary coverage scenarios7 pursuant to section #ahfb7;b71 in particular for benefits under such part ,b2 7v7 enrollment1 eligibility1 and coordination of benefits under title ,,xviii with respect to populations1 for whom there are special considerations1 such as residents of ,puerto ,rico and veterans2 and 7vi7 online resources and toll-free telephone numbers of the ,social ,security ,administration and the ,centers for ,medicare ,medicaid ,services 7including #a-hjj-,,medicare and the national toll-free number of the ,social ,security ,administration7 that provide information on eligibility for benefits under the ,medicare program under title ,,xviii4 7,c7 ,development of notice 7i7 ,in general ,the ,secretary1 in coordination with the ,commissioner of ,social ,security1 and taking into consideration information collected pursuant to clause 7ii71 shall1 not later than #ab months after the last day of the period for the request of information described in clause 7ii71 develop the notice to be provided pursuant to subparagraph 7,a74 7ii7 ,request for information ,not later than #f months after the date of the enactment of this paragraph1 the ,secretary shall request written information1 including recommendations1 from stakeholders 7including the groups described in subparagraph 7,d77 on the information to be included in the notice4 7iii7 ,notice improvement ,beginning #d years after the date of the enactment of this paragraph1 and not less than once every #b years thereafter1 the ,secretary1 in coordination with the ,commissioner of ,social ,security1 shall-- 7,i7 review the content of the notice to be provided under subparagraph 7,a72 7,,ii7 request written information1 including recommendations1 on such notice through a request for information process as described in clause 7ii72 and 7,,iii7 update and revise such notice as the ,secretary deems appropriate4 7,d7 ,groups ,for purposes of subparagraph 7,c77ii71 the groups described in this subparagraph include the following3 7i7 ,individuals who are #fj years of age or older4 7ii7 ,veterans4 7iii7 ,individuals with disabilities4 7iv7 ,individuals with end stage renal disease4 7v7 ,low-income individuals and families4 7vi7 ,employers 7including human resources professionals74 7vii7 ,states 7including representatives of ,state-run ,health ,insurance ,exchanges1 ,medicaid offices1 and ,departments of ,insurance74 7viii7 ,state ,health ,insurance ,assistance ,programs4 7ix7 ,health insurers4 7x7 ,health insurance agents and brokers4 7xi7 ,such other groups as specified by the ,secretary4 7,e7 ,posting of notice on websites ,the ,commissioner of ,social ,security and the ,secretary shall post the notice required under subparagraph 7,a7 on the public internet website of the ,social ,security ,administration and on ,medicare4gov 7or a successor website71 respectively4 7,f7 ,no effect on obligation to mail statements ,nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to relieve the ,commissioner of ,social ,security from any requirement under subsection 7c71 including the requirement to mail a statement on an annual basis to each eligible individual who is not receiving benefits under title ,,ii and for whom a mailing address can be determined through such methods as the ,commissioner determines to be appropriate4 4 7,b7 ,timing of statements ,section #aadc7;c77#b7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;b-#ac7;c77#b77 is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence3 ,with respect to statements provided to individuals who are attaining age #fe1 as described in subsection 7a77#d71 such statements shall be mailed not earlier than #f months and not later than #c months before the individual attains such age44 7#b7 ,social security beneficiaries ,title ,,xi of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acja et seq47 is amended by inserting after section #aadd the following new section3 #aadd;,a4 ,medicare enrollment notification and eligibility notices for ,social ,security beneficiaries prior to medicare eligibility 7a7 ,notices 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,commissioner of ,social ,security shall distribute the notice to be provided pursuant to section #aadc7;a77#d71 as may be modified under paragraph 7#b71 to individuals entitled to monthly insurance benefits under title ,,ii in accordance with subsection 7b74 7#b7 ,authority to modify notice ,the ,secretary1 in coordination with the ,commissioner of ,social ,security1 may modify the notice to be distributed under paragraph 7#a7 as necessary to take into account the individuals described in such paragraph4 7#c7 ,posting of notice on websites ,the ,commissioner of ,social ,security and the ,secretary shall post the notice required to be distributed under paragraph 7#a7 on the public internet website of the ,social ,security ,administration and on ,medicare4gov 7or a successor website71 respectively4 7b7 ,timing ,beginning not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of this section1 a notice required under subsection 7a77#a7 shall be mailed to an individual described in such subsection-- 7#a7 in the third month before the date on which such individual's initial enrollment period begins as provided under section #ahcg2 and 7#b7 in the case of an individual with respect to whom section #bbf7;b7 applies 7except for an individual who will attain age #fe during the #bd month period described in such section71 in the month before such date on which such individual's initial enrollment period so begins4 4