Curbelo’s bipartisan bill would safeguard new Medicare enrollees

Americans transitioning to Medicare coverage could benefit from provisions that would be provided under a newly proposed bipartisan bill from U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) ensuring there aren’t gaps in their health care coverage once they’ve left employment.

The Medicare Enrollment Protection Act of 2018, H.R. 5104, aims to end high lifetime premiums and delayed Medicare-coverage start dates that people aged 65 years and over get punished with under current federal law if they fail to enroll in Medicare Part B within eight months of separating from their employment, including if they chose to opt into COBRA continuation health coverage, according to Curbelo’s office.

“We should not penalize seniors through higher premiums because they chose to remain in their current network,” Rep. Curbelo said. “Every day my casework staff hears about the horrors of navigating the federal bureaucracy, and we need to find ways to help those stuck in confusing processes.”

If enacted, H.R. 5104 specifically would establish a special enrollment period under Medicare for individuals who miss their enrollment periods due to COBRA continuation coverage, which lasts up to 18 months, according to the congressman’s office.

Congress passed the landmark COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) health benefit provisions in 1986 to provide ongoing group health coverage that otherwise might be terminated when someone leaves employment, according to the U.S. Labor Department. COBRA gives certain former employees, retirees and their qualified beneficiaries the right to the temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates when coverage is lost due to certain qualifying events.

“I’m proud to support the Medicare Enrollment Protection Act of 2018 to help protect individuals who elect COBRA coverage and as a result, unintentionally missed the deadline to enroll in Medicare,” said Rep. Curbelo.

The congressman was joined in introducing H.R. 5104 by original cosponsors U.S. Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), Mike Thompson (D-CA), and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), who all noted benefits of the bill.
“Confusion over rules should not prevent anyone from receiving coverage, and it certainly should not penalize them for the rest of their life,” said Rep. Schrader.

H.R. 5104 will streamline Medicare enrollment for seniors who have COBRA coverage, Rep. Thompson said. “We want to ensure the transition from private health care to Medicare is easy. The current law does not meet that objective,” added Rep. Bilirakis.

H.R. 5104 has been referred for consideration to three House panels: the Energy and Commerce, the Ways and Means, and the Education and the Workforce Committees.