# 115-hr-4133: Medicare Patient Empowerment Act of 2017

115-hr-4133, Medicare Patient Empowerment Act of 2017, is a 115th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17] (R-TX); status Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-4133
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 115-hr-4133
- Congress: 115
- Title: Medicare Patient Empowerment Act of 2017
- Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Introduced: 2017-10-25
- Sponsor: Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17] (R-TX)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Medicare Patient Empowerment Act of 2017 This bill allows any Medicare beneficiary to enter into a contract with an eligible professional, regardless of whether the professional is a participating or non-participating physician or practitioner, for any item or service covered by Medicare. Such beneficiaries may submit a claim for Medicare payment in the amount that would otherwise apply, except that, where the professional is considered to be non-participating, payment shall be paid as if the professional were participating. An eligible professional is  a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse-midwife, clinical social worker, clinical psychologist, physical or occupational therapist, qualified speech-language pathologist, or qualified audiologist. A Medicare beneficiary must agree in writing in such a contract to: (1) pay the eligible professional for a Medicare-covered item or service; and (2) submit, in lieu of the eligible professional, a claim for Medicare payment. However, a beneficiary may negotiate, as a term of the contract, for the eligible professional to file such claims on the beneficiary's behalf. The bill preempts state laws from limiting the amount of charges for physician and practitioner services for which Medicare payment is made.

## Cosponsors (5)

- Rep. Roe, David P. [R-TN-1] (R-TN), 2017-10-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lamborn, Doug [R-CO-5] (R-CO), 2017-12-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND] (R-ND), 2017-12-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Bill [R-OH-6] (R-OH), 2018-05-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Coffman, Mike [R-CO-6] (R-CO), 2018-07-16T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 115-hr-6510: Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act
- 115-hr-5499: Stephen Michael Gleason Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 115-hr-5141: United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018
- 115-hr-4760: Securing America's Future Act of 2018
- 115-hr-4229: Protecting HOME Access Act of 2017
- 115-hr-4107: USS Indianapolis Congressional Gold Medal Act

## Sources
- [115-hr-4133 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/4133)

## Related
- [115-hr-6510: Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-6510)
- [115-hr-5499: Stephen Michael Gleason Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-5499)
- [115-hr-5141: United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-5141)
- [115-hr-4760: Securing America's Future Act of 2018](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-4760)
- [115-hr-4229: Protecting HOME Access Act of 2017](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-4229)
- [115-hr-4107: USS Indianapolis Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-4107)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/115-hr-4133 (as of 2025-11-18).