This bill, the Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act, requires the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Commissioner of Social Security to review and simplify how family caregivers interact with Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and Social Security. The agencies must review eligibility, application, forms, procedures, and communications. They must seek input from family caregivers, caregiver organizations, and State Medicaid and CHIP programs. The agencies should find ways to reduce duplicate requests for information, simplify forms, shorten call wait times, improve websites and in-person access, provide translation and accessible formats, and train staff on caregiver issues. After the review, each agency must take actions to improve customer service for people using or applying for the covered programs.
The agencies must each submit a report to relevant Congressional committees no later than 2 years after enactment. The reports must list findings, planned actions, expected completion dates, projected annual costs for those actions, and any recommended changes to Federal law. Each agency must submit an updated report 2 years after its first report. The reports must be posted publicly on agency websites. CMS must also send a letter to each State Medicaid and CHIP Director within 1 year encouraging similar State reviews and sharing promising practices and best practices.
If you are a family caregiver helping someone get or keep Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, or Social Security benefits, this bill directs federal agencies to look for ways to make those programs easier to use. The review aims to reduce repeated paperwork, make program websites easier to use and accessible, shorten phone wait times, improve in-person appointment access, provide translation and accessible formats (including American Sign Language), and improve staff training. States will be encouraged to do similar reviews for their Medicaid and CHIP programs.
The bill does not appropriate funds or set specific cost amounts. It requires each agency to include projected annual costs for proposed actions in the reports they submit to Congress. No publicly available information.
Supporters would say the bill will identify and reduce burdens that family caregivers face when applying for and using benefits. The bill’s steps—reviews, stakeholder input, and required reports—are meant to produce concrete actions to streamline forms, reduce duplicate requests, improve communications and website accessibility, and encourage State-level improvements.
No publicly available information.