Washington, DC – This week, U.S. Representatives Young Kim (CA-40) and Katie Porter (CA-47) introduced the bipartisan Medicare Economic Security Solutions Act (H.R. 6490) to help lower Medicare costs for seniors by capping late Medicare enrollment fees.
Under current law, American seniors who defer enrollment in Medicare may unexpectedly find themselves with a higher bill due to late enrollment charges. This bill would cap the fee amount and duration for late Medicare Part B enrollment and lift penalties for COBRA, retiree, and Veterans Affairs (VA) enrollees who delay Medicare coverage.
“As someone who is approaching Medicare eligibility age, protecting the benefits our seniors have earned is personal to me. With more Americans working longer and delaying retirement benefits, many seniors face higher fees simply for delaying Medicare enrollment. Permanently raising seniors’ health care premiums for delaying Medicare enrollment only hurts seniors already struggling on fixed income,” said Rep. Kim. “The Medicare Economic Security Solutions Act caps burdensome fees and addresses red tape for seniors enrolling in Medicare. I’m proud to help lead this bipartisan and commonsense bill that would lower costs for my constituents.”
“Punishing seniors who delay their enrollment in Medicare with lifetime premium increases is unfair and wrong,” said Rep. Porter. “Late enrollment fees shackle hundreds of thousands of families to higher health care costs, including many who were unaware of this penalty. I’m proud to work across the aisle with Rep. Kim on this commonsense bill to cap late fees and reduce their burden on older Americans.”
This bill is also supported by AARP, Medicare Rights Center, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and Social Security Works.
Read the full bill text HERE.
