H.R. 2477 would change enrollment procedures for some Medicare beneficiaries who enroll in the program when they first become eligible or during the annual general enrollment period.
In addition, H.R. 2477 would create an additional Medicare benefit option, coverage of the cost of immunosuppressive drugs, for kidney transplant patients who have no other health insurance or drug coverage, and the bill would charge beneficiaries a premium for the new drug-only benefit.
The legislation would make it easier for Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans to recoup payments that should have been made by other insurers.
The legislation would also make several changes to the Medicare hospice program. It would require hospice programs participating in Medicare to undergo periodic surveys to ensure compliance with federal standards, and it would reduce payments to hospices that fail to report certain data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
