Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act of 2025
- Sponsor
- Rep. Carey, Mike [R-OH-15]
- Committees
- Energy and Commerce Committee (primary)
- Last action
- Dec 16, 2025
Bottom line
This bill aims to simplify and promote family caregiver access to Medicare beneficiary information through formal outreach, education, and a standardized authorization process, while also addressing fraud prevention.
What it actually does
This bill amends the Social Security Act to mandate the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct outreach and education activities. These activities will inform Medicare beneficiaries about their option to authorize a family caregiver to access their personal health information through the 1-800-MEDICARE telephone number by submitting a specified authorization form. The bill also requires the development of best practices to protect beneficiaries from fraud and provides for feedback opportunities from family caregivers.
Proponents argue
Supporters argue that this bill will significantly ease the burden on family caregivers by making it simpler for them to obtain crucial Medicare information, thereby enabling them to better assist beneficiaries with healthcare management and coordination. They contend it promotes transparency and provides much-needed support for the essential, often uncompensated, work performed by family caregivers.
Opponents contend
Critics might acknowledge the bill's positive intent but raise concerns that expanding access to personal health information, even with authorization, could increase the risk of fraud or misuse if the implementation of safeguards is not exceptionally robust. They may also question the administrative burden and potential costs associated with developing and executing comprehensive new outreach programs and training initiatives.
The bill is very concise and clearly written, allowing for a quick and easy understanding of its provisions.
Section 2, amending Section 1804 of the Social Security Act by adding subsection (e)
Mandating Outreach and Education for Family Caregiver Access to Medicare Information
This provision requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct extensive outreach and education campaigns. These campaigns will inform Medicare beneficiaries and applicants that they can authorize a family caregiver to access their personal health information via the toll-free 1-800-MEDICARE helpline by completing and submitting a specific authorization form. The efforts will target beneficiaries, healthcare providers, family caregivers, and other relevant entities, ensuring information is prominently featured and easily understandable across various platforms, including Medicare.gov, official notices, and social media.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue this provision directly addresses a critical need for family caregivers, who often face significant barriers in obtaining necessary information to manage a loved one's healthcare. By streamlining access and raising awareness, it empowers caregivers, improves care coordination, and ultimately enhances the quality of care for beneficiaries.
Critics contend
Critics might express concerns about the potential for increased administrative costs associated with developing and executing comprehensive outreach programs, as well as the training of 1-800-MEDICARE operators. They may also highlight the ongoing challenge of ensuring data privacy and preventing fraud, even with best practices in place, given the sensitive nature of personal health information.
Tradeoffs
This provision navigates the tension between the desire to support and empower family caregivers by providing easier access to information and the critical need to protect sensitive personal health information from fraud and misuse. It also involves a tradeoff between the administrative costs of establishing new programs and the potential benefits of improved care coordination and caregiver support.
Defines 'family caregiver' by referencing Section 2 of the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage Family Caregivers Act of 2017, and allows the Secretary to specify other individuals.
Section 2, adding Section 1804(e)(8)(A) to the Social Security Act
Why it matters:This is standard legislative practice to avoid re-defining terms that are already established in federal law, promoting consistency across statutes.
Case for: Using an existing definition ensures consistency across federal programs and leverages prior legislative intent regarding who constitutes a family caregiver, streamlining the legal framework.
Case against: Relying on external definitions can make the bill less self-contained and harder for a casual reader to fully comprehend without looking up additional statutes, potentially obscuring the full scope of who is covered.
Estimated impact: Ensures a consistent and potentially broad definition of who qualifies as a family caregiver for the purposes of this bill, impacting the scope of individuals who can benefit from the information access provisions.
Specifies that the 'specified family caregiver information access authorization form' means the CMS-10106 form or any successor form.
Section 2, adding Section 1804(e)(8)(B) to the Social Security Act
Why it matters:This is standard legislative practice to define specific terms used throughout the new subsection, rather than embedding the form's name directly into the policy description.
Case for: Using an existing form, such as CMS-10106, streamlines implementation by leveraging existing administrative infrastructure and potentially reducing the time and cost associated with creating a new form from scratch.
Case against: While efficient, relying on an existing form might limit the opportunity to design a new form specifically optimized for the outreach goals of this bill, potentially missing opportunities for improved clarity or user-friendliness.
Estimated impact: Facilitates quicker implementation and reduces initial administrative overhead by leveraging an existing and potentially familiar mechanism for authorization.