H.R. __, the “Seniors’ Rights to Know Act”

This bill, offered by Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), would amend section 1851(d) of the Social Security Act (dealing with the Secretary’s responsibility to educate beneficiaries about plan choices) to require the Secretary to distribute information describing what changes were made to the plan offerings as a result of the Affordable Care Act and include an assessment of how such changes affect individuals enrolled in the plan.  The bill also amends 1851 (h)(2) to prohibit the Secretary from disapproving any marketing information provided by a plan, regardless of whether it is biased, one-sided, incomplete, potentially misleading, or designed to deter enrollment of sicker patients.