Congress·In Committee·S. 3439

Sen. Tillis and Sen. Hassan Introduce the Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act

Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act of 2025

3 months ago·View on Congress.gov

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Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

↔Companion bill: Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act of 2025

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Key Points

This bill helps family members who take care of seniors by making it easier to get information from Medicare. It requires the government to teach seniors how to give a family caregiver permission to call the 1-800-MEDICARE hotline to discuss health records and insurance coverage.
The plan requires the government to put clear instructions and authorization forms on the Medicare website and in the official "Medicare & You" handbook. This helps families avoid the frustration of being told they aren't allowed to talk to Medicare about a loved one's care.
To keep seniors safe, the government would create new guides on how to prevent fraud. These guides would teach families how to protect private health information and how to report any suspicious activity or scams.
This bill would apply to everyone on Medicare, including those with private Medicare Advantage plans. It also requires Medicare to provide these forms and information in multiple languages and to train phone operators on how to better help family caregivers.

Healthcare

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Who is affectedScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Dec 11, 2025Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Dec 11, 2025

Introduced in Senate

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

Within 1 year of enactment

HHS must publish best practices to protect seniors from fraud related to caregiver health-information access

Within one year of enactment, new guidelines would help families and providers guard against scams and misuse of personal health data.

Within 1-2 years of enactment

Medicare.gov, the "Medicare & You" handbook, and 1-800-MEDICARE operators are updated with caregiver authorization information and forms

Family caregivers will be able to easily find and submit the form that lets them call Medicare on behalf of a loved one, and phone operators will be trained to help them.

Related News

3 articles

Ripon Advance·3 months ago

Carey, Tillis offer bipartisan, bicameral Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act

A bipartisan, bicameral bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Mike Carey and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis would improve coordination between caregivers and Medicare beneficiaries. The Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act (H.R. 6735/S. 3439) provides for outreach to simplify access to information via 1-800-MEDICARE.

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Politico Pro·about 2 years ago

Jimmy, Rosalynn Carter groups bolster advocacy on mental health, caregivers

Nonprofit groups founded by former president Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter are expanding federal advocacy, lobbying for bipartisan bills including the Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act to support family caregivers and address mental health coverage concerns.

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Bloomberg Law·about 1 year ago

Caregiver Tax Credit Could Pass in 2025 With Trump, GOP Support

Advocates for the elderly are hopeful that Congress may pass bipartisan legislation to support family caregivers in 2025. The report highlights a suite of bills, including those aimed at reducing informational burdens on families navigating Medicare and other federal benefits.

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Related Bills

1 bill

H.R. 6735Identical bill

Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act of 2025

Dec 16 — Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.