1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Language Access for Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2019”.
Language Access for Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2019
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced Medicare beneficiary information through access to annual Medicare notifications in multiple languages.
2. Providing access to annual Medicare notifications in multiple languages
In general— Section 1804 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395b–2) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(e) The notice provided under subsection (a) shall be translated into languages in addition to English and Spanish. In carrying out the previous sentence, the Secretary shall prioritize translation of the notice into languages in which documents provided by the Commissioner of Social Security are translated and language that are the most frequently requested for translation for purposes of applying for old-age insurance benefits under title II.”
Effective date— The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to notices distributed prior to each Medicare open enrollment period beginning after January 1, 2020.