U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) on Feb. 10 sponsored legislation to improve health care for the nearly 12 million Americans who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare.
“Individuals who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid have some of the greatest health needs in our nation, yet they are often left with fragmented care,” Sen. Scott said. “I’m committed to ensuring our most vulnerable populations receive the care they need, and improving the coordination between these two distinct health programs will do just that.”
The Supporting Care for Dual Eligibles Act, S. 3630, would establish a $100 million Dual Eligible Quality Care Fund to provide grants to state Medicaid programs to improve their capacity to ensure the provision of quality integrated care for dual-eligible beneficiaries, according to the text of the bill.
If enacted, S. 3630 would permit state Medicaid offices to use their grant money for myriad purposes, including recruiting and hiring new workers, information technology systems changes, dual enrollment support for beneficiaries, state quality measurement and evaluation, supporting or improving Medicare initiatives, or monitoring and oversight, among others, according to the bill text.
During a Feb. 10 hearing, entitled Improving Care Experiences for People with both Medicare and Medicaid, held by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, ranking member Scott pointed out that Medicare is a national program run from the federal government, while Medicaid is essentially a federal program, but run by state governments.
“Getting those two to work together is not as easy as it should be,” Sen. Scott said during opening remarks for the hearing. “Anything that we can do in the direction of making that happen is going to be in the best interest of the seniors across this nation and certainly the seniors in South Carolina that I know and love so much.”
The Senate bill has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.