When the federal government created Medicare, it made a commitment to America’s seniors, and it’s a commitment that we must uphold.  This week Congress passed 4 bills to strengthen Medicare and improve care for seniors. These commonsense, bipartisan bills strengthen the integrity of our Medicare system and empower seniors to make more informed decisions when it comes to their healthcare. Our bills will also crack down on fraud and abuse, while making the system more transparent.

Read about the bills here:

• H.R. 6662 – the Empowering Seniors’ Enrollment Decision Act of 2018 –  allows enrollees in Medicare Cost Plans that are ending after 2018 to switch their coverage outside the typical open enrollment period, ensuring beneficiaries have adequate time to make a decision about their coverage.
• H.R. 6690 – the Fighting Fraud to Protect Care for Seniors Act of 2018 – establishes a pilot program to test the feasibility of using Medicare beneficiary “smart cards” to reduce Medicare fraud and strengthen the integrity of the program.
• H.R. 6561 – the Comprehensive Care for Seniors Act of 2018 –  requires CMS to finalize updated regulations for Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) programs by December 31, 2018.
• H.R. 3635 – the Local Coverage Determination Clarification Act of 2018 – ensures that Medicare local coverage determinations do not supersede physician medical judgment and deny patients access to medically necessary care.

I'm proud of our bipartisan work to get these bills passed and will continue fighting to protect Medicare for today's seniors and future generations.