02/25/2023
Please share and support by contacting your local representative to help pass the Medicare Patient Empowerment Act of 2021!
- What is the Medicare Patient Empowerment Act of 2021?
▫️It is a bill that would "establish a Medicare payment option for patients and eligible professionals to freely contract, without penalty, for Medicare fee-for-service items and services, while allowing Medicare beneficiaries to use their Medicare benefits."1
▫️In other words, it would allow any patient to work with the provider of their choosing, regardless of whether the provider is contracted with Medicare.
-What professionals are eligible?
Physician
Physician assistant
Nurse practitioner
Clinical nurse specialist
Certified registered nurse anesthetist
Certified nurse-midwife
Clinical social worker
Clinical psychologist
Registered dietitian
Nutrition professional
Physical or occupational therapist
Qualified speech-language pathologist
Qualified audiologist
- Where does the law currently stand?
▫️Currently, if you are a Medicare beneficiary, you can not be seen by a provider that is not contracted with Medicare.
▫️So, if there is an out-of-network provider that you, as a Medicare beneficiary, would like to see and pay cash, you are not able to do so without this law.
- Who does it help?
▫️Anyone who is a Medicare beneficiary.
- Where is this bill now?
▫️The bill is currently in the House of Representatives being reviewed by the subcommittee on Health, where it has been since May 19, 2021.
- What can you do to help it pass?
▫️Please contact your local representative. ▫️You may find your local representative here:
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
▫️Please write to them and stress the urgency and importance of passing this bill.
IT’S TIME TO LET SENIORS CHOOSE THE PROVIDER THEY WANT
1. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3322/all-info