Better Efficiency and Administrative Simplification Act of 2014

Better Efficiency and Administrative Simplification Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow individuals the option to receive the Medicare Summary Notice (explanation of benefits) electronically.

Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) apply a similar option to other Medicare statements and notifications, and (2) provide such Medicare Summary Notice and any other such statements and notifications on a more frequent basis than is otherwise required under Medicare.

Extends from at least once every 5 years to at least once every 10 years the application of competitive procedures when the contract of a Medicare administrative contractor comes up for renewal.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4853 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4853

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to allow individuals to 
 elect to receive the Medicare Summary Notice electronically, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 12, 2014

  Mr. Renacci (for himself and Mr. Pascrell) introduced the following 
  bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in 
 addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to allow individuals to 
 elect to receive the Medicare Summary Notice electronically, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Better Efficiency and Administrative 
Simplification Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. OPTION TO RECEIVE MEDICARE SUMMARY NOTICE ELECTRONICALLY.

    (a) In General.--Section 1806 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395b-7) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Format of Statements From Secretary.--
            ``(1) Electronic option beginning in 2015.--Subject to 
        paragraph (2), for statements described in subsection (a) that 
        are furnished for a period in 2015 or a subsequent year, in the 
        case that an individual described in subsection (a) elects, in 
        accordance with such form, manner, and time specified by the 
        Secretary, to receive such statement in an electronic format, 
        such statement shall be furnished to such individual for each 
        period subsequent to such election in such a format and shall 
        not be mailed to the individual.
            ``(2) One-time revocation option.--An individual who makes 
        an election described in paragraph (1) may revoke such election 
        once.
            ``(3) Notification.--The Secretary shall ensure that, in 
        the most cost effective manner and beginning January 1, 2017, a 
        clear notification of the option to elect to receive statements 
        described in subsection (a) in an electronic format is made 
        available, such as through the notices distributed under 
        section 1804, to individuals described in subsection (a).''.
    (b) Encouraged Expansion of Electronic Statements.--To the extent 
to which the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines 
appropriate, the Secretary shall--
            (1) apply an option similar to the option described in 
        subsection (c)(1) of section 1806 of the Social Security Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 1395b-7) (relating to the provision of the Medicare 
        Summary Notice in an electronic format), as added by subsection 
        (a), to other statements and notifications under title XVIII of 
        such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.); and
            (2) provide such Medicare Summary Notice and any such other 
        statements and notifications on a more frequent basis than is 
        otherwise required under such title.

SEC. 3. RENEWAL OF MAC CONTRACTS.

    Section 1874A(b)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395kk-1(b)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ``5 years'' and inserting 
``10 years''.
                                 <all>