H.R. 4357: Medicare Early Access Act of 2004
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H.R. 4357: Medicare Early Access Act of 2004
108th Congress · introduced 2004-05-12 · Health · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2004-05-12 · official record
- Who proposed it: Rep. Stark, Fortney Pete [D-CA-13] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Medicare Early Access Act of 2004
Plain summary
Medicare Early Access Act of 2004 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to add a new part E (Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals 55 to 65 Years of Age). Provides access to Medicare benefits for individuals 55 to 64 years of age who do not have coverage under a Federal health insurance program or under a group plan. Requires enrollees to pay a premium to receive Medicare coverage. Requires the Secretary to base the premium on the Secretary's estimate of the average, national annual per capita amount of the cost of providing services to the population. Allows early retirees with access to retiree coverage to enroll under this part while keeping their Federal or State COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) continuation coverage. Allows an employer that offers employment-based retiree health coverage to an individual who enrolls under this part to modify such coverage to provide for: (1) employer payment of items and services for which payment may not be made under Medicare; and (2) employer payment of 25 percent of the monthly premium applicable to the individual after enrollment. Creates in the Treasury the Medicare Early Access Trust Fund to hold the premiums collected under this Act and to support the new program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow program enrollees to receive a 75 percent advance, refundable credit to offset premium costs (thus requiring program enrollees in the Medicare buy-in to be responsible for 25 percent of the monthly premiums).
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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A “Nay” vote
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What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Medicare Early Access Act of 2004
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Stark, Fortney Pete [D-CA-13] · 93 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT), Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY) and 33 more.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (1)
- Securities
- Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-108hr4357.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/108/hr>
Record fed-us-cong108-hr4357 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong108 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong108