[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1798 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1798
To amend titles XI and XVIII of the Social Security Act to prohibit
outbound call telemarketing to individuals eligible to receive benefits
under title XVIII of such Act.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 29, 2005
Mr. Corzine (for himself, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Lautenberg, and Ms.
Stabenow) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend titles XI and XVIII of the Social Security Act to prohibit
outbound call telemarketing to individuals eligible to receive benefits
under title XVIII of such Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Medicare Do Not Call Act''.
SEC. 2. TELEMARKETING PROHIBITED.
(a) Prescription Drug Plans.--Section 1860D-4(a) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-l04(a)) is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
``(5) Prohibition on telemarketing.
``(A) In general.--A PDP sponsor offering a
prescription drug plan shall be prohibited from
conducting outbound call telemarketing (as defined in
subparagraph (B)) for the purpose of soliciting
enrollment into such a plan under this part.
``(B) Outbound call telemarketing defined.--
``(i) In general.--Except as provided in
clause (ii), for purposes of this paragraph,
the term `outbound call telemarketing' means a
telephone call initiated by a telemarketer--
``(I) to induce the purchase of
goods or services; or
``(II) to solicit a charitable
contribution.
``(ii) Catalog mailings not included in
definition of outbound call telemarketing.--
Such term does not include--
``(I) the mailing of a catalog; or
``(II) the receipt or return of a
telephone call initiated by a customer
in response to such mailing.''.
(b) Medicare Advantage Organizations.--Section 1851(h) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-21(h)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
``(6) Prohibition on telemarketing.--A Medicare Advantage
organization offering a Medicare Advantage plan shall be
prohibited from conducting outbound call telemarketing (as
defined in section 1860D-4(a)(5)(B)) for the purpose of
soliciting enrollment into such a plan under this part.''.
(c) Criminal Penalties for Fraudulent Telemarketing.--Section 1128B
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b) is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
``(g) Whoever knowingly and willfully engages in deceptive or
abusive telemarketing acts or practices (as defined in part 310.3 and
part 310.4, respectively, of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations), or
makes any false , statement or representation of a material fact while
conducting outbound call telemarketing (as defined in section 1860D-
4(a)(5)(B)) with respect to a prescription drug plan offered by a PDP
sponsor under part D of title XVIII, a Medicare Advantage plan offered
by a Medicare Advantage organization under part C of such title, or who
falsely alleges to be conducting outbound call telemarketing (as so
defined) with respect to either such a plan, shall be guilty of a
felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than $25,000
or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. INCREASED FUNDING FOR STATE HEALTH INSURANCE COUNSELING AND
ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
(a) In General.--There are hereby appropriated to the Secretary of
Health and Human Services (in this Act referred to as the
``Secretary'') an amount equal to $2 multiplied by the total number of
individuals eligible for benefits under title XVIII of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.). Such funds shall--
(1) be used by the Secretary to award grants to States
under section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 1395b-4); and
(2) remain available until expended.
(b) Allocation of Grant Funds.--The Secretary shall ensure that
funds appropriated under this section are allocated to States in an
amount equal to the proportion of the number of residents in the State
that are eligible for benefits under title XVIII of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) in relation to the total number of
individuals eligible for such benefits under such title.
SEC. 4. INFORMING BENEFICIARIES OF THE HHS TIPS HOT-LINE.
The Secretary shall take appropriate measures to inform individuals
eligible for benefits under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) of the availability and confidentiality of the
hotline maintained by the Inspector General of the Department of Health
and Human Services for the reporting of fraud, waste, and abuse in the
medicare program.
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