SMART Act

Stop Mandating Additional Requirements for Travel Act or the SMART Act

This bill nullifies on July 4, 2021, the rule issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on January 29, 2021, that requires the use of face masks on planes, trains, buses, and other public conveyances and at transportation hubs to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

The SMART Act, also known as Bill 117 hr 4041, is a piece of legislation currently being considered by the US Congress. The acronym SMART stands for "Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers Act." The main goal of this bill is to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) program.

The MSP program is designed to ensure that Medicare is not the primary payer for medical expenses when another entity, such as a private insurance company or a settlement from a lawsuit, is responsible for covering those costs. However, the current system is often slow and cumbersome, leading to delays in reimbursement and potential overpayments by Medicare.

The SMART Act aims to streamline the MSP process by implementing several key reforms. One of the main provisions of the bill is the creation of a secure online portal that will allow parties involved in a settlement to report information to Medicare in a more efficient manner. This will help to reduce the administrative burden on both Medicare and the parties involved in the settlement. Additionally, the SMART Act includes provisions to improve the coordination between Medicare and other entities, such as private insurance companies and state Medicaid programs, to ensure that Medicare is not overpaying for medical expenses. The bill also includes measures to increase transparency and accountability in the MSP program, such as requiring Medicare to provide more detailed information about its calculations for reimbursement. Overall, the SMART Act is aimed at modernizing and improving the MSP program to ensure that Medicare is able to recover funds owed to it in a timely and accurate manner. The bill has received bipartisan support in Congress and is currently being reviewed by the relevant committees.