RAMP Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The RAMP Act amends the Medicare secondary payer private cause of action in section 1862(b)(3)(A) of the Social Security Act. Current law allows double damages when a primary plan fails to provide primary payment or appropriate reimbursement. The bill changes the defendant reference from a broad primary plan to a group health plan, using the statutory group health plan definition. That narrows private double-damages exposure for non-group-health primary payers while preserving the action against group health plans.
Who Benefits and How
Non-group-health primary payers benefit because the private double-damages action would no longer point at the full primary-plan category. Liability insurers benefit if they are outside the amended group-health-plan language and face reduced Medicare secondary payer private-action risk. No-fault insurers benefit from less private double-damages exposure under the narrowed wording. Group health plans benefit from clearer statutory focus even though they remain covered by the private action.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Medicare beneficiaries pursuing secondary-payer recoveries may lose leverage against non-group-health primary payers. Medicare Advantage organizations and recovery vendors may face narrower private enforcement options. Group health plans remain exposed to double-damages private actions for failure to pay or reimburse. Federal Medicare recovery policy staff must adjust guidance and litigation positions to the narrower defendant category.
Key Provisions
- Amends the Medicare secondary payer private cause of action in section 1862(b)(3)(A).
- Limits the broad primary-plan reference by substituting group health plan.
- Provides narrower double-damages private litigation exposure for non-group-health payers.
- Requires group health plans to remain the covered defendants under the private action.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Narrows Medicare secondary payer double-damages private actions by replacing the broad primary-plan defendant category with group health plans.
Key Policy Areas
Medicare, Health Insurance, Litigation
Primary Purpose
Narrows Medicare secondary payer double-damages private actions by replacing the broad primary-plan defendant category with group health plans.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Non-group-health primary payers
- Liability insurers
- No-fault insurers
- Group health plans
Identified Costs
- Medicare beneficiaries pursuing recoveries
- Medicare Advantage organizations
- Group health plans
- Medicare recovery staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Bilirakis (for himself and Mr. Schneider) introduced the following …
Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in …
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Group health plans, Liability insurers, Medicare Advantage organizations
Positive-direction: Liability insurers, No-fault insurers
Negative-direction: Group health plans, Medicare Advantage organizations
Medicare beneficiaries pursuing recoveries
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology