HR2491-119

What This Bill Does

The ABC Act directs the CMS Administrator and Social Security Commissioner to jointly review how Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, Social Security retirement and disability benefits, and SSI handle eligibility, applications, enrollment, coverage maintenance, use of benefits, forms, and communications. The review must seek ways to reduce repeated requests for the same caregiver information, simplify documents and procedures, improve call wait times and employee answers, redesign websites for easier access and ADA-aligned web design, expand in-person access, provide translation, interpretation, American Sign Language-compatible and multilingual formats, train dispute and appeals staff on caregiver issues, and meet with family caregivers and beneficiary organizations. After review, CMS and SSA must take streamlining actions, submit detailed reports within two years with issues, actions, timelines, costs, and recommended law changes, update Congress two years later, publish reports online, and send State Medicaid and CHIP directors a best-practices letter within one year.

Who Benefits and How

Family caregivers benefit because CMS and SSA must reduce duplicative paperwork, repeated information requests, inaccessible communications, and confusing benefit processes. Medicare beneficiaries benefit if eligibility, enrollment, benefit use, disputes, and communications become easier for caregivers to navigate. Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries benefit because state programs receive federal promising practices for reducing caregiver administrative burdens. Caregivers with disabilities and caregivers with limited English proficiency benefit from ADA-aligned websites, accessible formats, translation, interpretation, and ASL-compatible information.

Who Bears the Burden and How

CMS must review Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP processes, take simplification actions, report to Congress, and send state directors best-practices guidance. The Social Security Administration must review title II and SSI processes, improve customer service, train staff, and report implementation costs and timelines. State Medicaid and CHIP agencies may face pressure to conduct similar reviews and adopt federal promising practices. Federal taxpayers bear administrative costs for reviews, website updates, training, translation, interpretation, reporting, and process changes.

Key Provisions

• Requires CMS and SSA to review eligibility, enrollment, coverage maintenance, benefit-use, forms, procedures, and communications across covered programs.
• Directs the agencies to reduce repeated caregiver paperwork and improve call centers, websites, in-person access, translation, interpretation, and accessible formats.
• Requires streamlining actions, two-year congressional reports, public posting, cost estimates, and recommended statutory changes.
• Directs CMS to send State Medicaid and CHIP directors a best-practices letter within one year.