Bills calling for a Medicare Common Access Card were submitted in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. The bill proposes a smart card pilot program for Medicare recipients. H.R. 3220 was submitted by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) and S. 1871 was submitted by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.). Both bills have been sent to committee.
If passed through Congress and signed into law the bill would require the Department of Health and Human Services to initiate a smart card pilot for Medicaid recipients. The Medicare Common Access Card Act would use chip technology to keep personal information secure and would help ensure that Medicare billing is accurate. The most obvious potential challenge would be getting the technology in place to support the new cards.
Program goals:
- Improve the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries
- Increase billing efficiency for Medicare services
- Prevent fraudulent use of Medicare beneficiary identifying information
Follow this bill’s progress here