ABC Act
Sponsored By: Senator Edward Markey
Introduced
Summary
This bill would direct the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to simplify and streamline eligibility and enrollment for family caregivers who help people access Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and Social Security benefits. It focuses on cutting duplicated paperwork, improving customer service, and making communications accessible to people with disabilities and non-English speakers.
Show full summary
- Families and caregivers: Makes it easier to apply for, maintain, and use benefits by reducing duplicate information requests and multiple forms.
- People with disabilities and non-English speakers: Requires better access to information in American Sign Language, multiple languages, and other accessible formats.
- State Medicaid and CHIP programs: The CMS Administrator would send a letter within 1 year encouraging States to do similar reviews and sharing promising practices and best practices.
- Federal agencies and staff: CMS and SSA would jointly review eligibility, enrollment, forms, procedures, and communications and would submit a report within 2 years and an updated report 2 years later detailing actions, timelines, and projected annual costs.
- Customer service and appeals: Aims to reduce call wait times, improve websites and in-person access, and train staff who handle disputes, appeals, and grievances.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Make caregiving paperwork easier
This bill would require CMS and the Social Security Administration to jointly review eligibility, applications, forms, and communications for Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and Social Security. The review would seek input from family caregivers (including people with disabilities), caregiver groups, and State Medicaid and CHIP programs. The agencies would try to cut duplicate paperwork, shorten phone wait times, improve ADA‑aligned websites, give ASL and other language options, expand in‑person access, and train staff on caregiver issues. CMS would send a letter to each State Medicaid and CHIP director within 1 year. The agencies would report to Congress within 2 years and update that report 2 years later, and make both reports public.
Define covered agencies and programs
This bill would define key terms used throughout the law. It would name the CMS Administrator and the SSA Commissioner as covered officials and say CMS and SSA are the covered agencies. It would list covered programs as Medicare (title XVIII), Medicaid (title XIX), CHIP (title XXI), and Social Security programs (titles II and XVI). It would adopt the ADA definition of disability and the RAISE Act definition of family caregiver. These definitions would take effect upon enactment and apply across the bill.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Edward Markey
MA • D
Cosponsors
Shelley Capito
WV • R
Sponsored 4/1/2025
John Hickenlooper
CO • D
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Cindy Hyde-Smith
MS • R
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Richard Blumenthal
CT • D
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Thomas Tillis
NC • R
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Amy Klobuchar
MN • D
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Rick Scott
FL • R
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Tammy Baldwin
WI • D
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Cynthia Lummis
WY • R
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Mark Kelly
AZ • D
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Katie Britt
AL • R
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Mazie Hirono
HI • D
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Mike Rounds
SD • R
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Sheldon Whitehouse
RI • D
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Bill Cassidy
LA • R
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Christopher Coons
DE • D
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Eric Schmitt
MO • R
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Tammy Duckworth
IL • D
Sponsored 12/2/2025
Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM]
NM • D
Sponsored 12/9/2025
John Boozman
AR • R
Sponsored 12/9/2025
Pete Ricketts
NE • R
Sponsored 3/11/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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