Center Comments on Proposed Revisions to Medicare Enrollment and Eligibility Rules

This week the Center for Medicare Advocacy submitted comments on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule titled “Medicare Program; Implementing Certain Provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Revisions to Medicare Enrollment and Eligibility Rules”, 87 Fed Reg 25090 (April 27, 2022), available here.

The proposal would implement certain provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA), including: 1) key provisions of the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act which simplifies and accelerates Medicare enrollment by mandating that Part B insurance begin the first of the month following an individual’s enrollment during both the later months of the beneficiary’s Initial Enrollment Period (IEP) and during the General Enrollment Period (GEP); 2) establish new special enrollment periods (SEPs) for certain exceptional conditions; and 3) extend immunosuppressive drug coverage under Part B for certain ESRD beneficiaries. 

CMS also published a press release and separate fact sheet about the proposed rule on April 22, 2022. Comments on the proposed rule were due June 27, 2022.