Earned Benefits Equality and Family Reunification Act
Sponsored By: Representative Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13]
Introduced
Summary
Lets certain Medicare beneficiaries apply Medicare benefits to care received in selected foreign countries through a 10-year demonstration. It would test whether overseas coverage improves care quality, lowers federal costs, and helps beneficiaries reunite with family.
Show full summary
- Medicare beneficiaries who have Part A and Part B, including some enrolled in Medicare Advantage, could choose to get covered care while living in a participating country. Participation is voluntary, can be ended at any time, and the program must accept at least 150,000 people.
- The program would pay for health care items and services, premiums, and beneficiary cost-sharing incurred in selected countries but would not pay foreign income taxes. Payments are limited so total program spending does not exceed what Medicare would pay for equivalent services in the United States and cannot duplicate other Medicare payments.
- The Secretary must select at least 11 countries, including Canada, Germany, India, Israel, South Korea, Mexico, the Philippines, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Ghana. The demonstration can be run through Medicare Advantage plans, requires participating providers to meet local licensing and quality rules and fraud training, and must produce annual and final evaluations with recommendations to Congress.
Your PRIA Score
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Medicare coverage abroad pilot program
This bill would create a 10-year Medicare demonstration starting within one year of enactment. It would let people entitled to Part A and enrolled in Part B use Medicare to pay for items and services, premiums, and cost-sharing under certain approved foreign health systems if they live in or plan to relocate to a Selected Country. The Secretary must pick at least 11 countries, including Canada, Germany, India, Israel, South Korea, the Philippines, Panama, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Ghana. Medicare payments would be limited so total program payments and the program’s design and evaluation costs do not exceed what Medicare would have paid for equivalent services in the United States, and payments would apply only for calendar months the beneficiary resides in a Selected Country. The program could be run through Medicare Advantage plans, would use HI and SMI trust funds for benefits and section 1115A funds for administration, could cap enrollment (not below 150,000), would allow voluntary enrollment with Special Election Periods, and would require provider training and annual and final evaluations.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13]
NY • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov