GAP Act

This Act may be cited as the “Guaranteeing Access to supplemental Plans Act” or the “GAP Act”.

(a) In general.— Section 1882 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ss), is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(aa) Enrollment period.—

(1) In general.— Beginning January 1, 2028, the issuer of a medicare supplemental policy shall provide for a general enrollment period for each year during which any individual eligible for benefits under this title may enroll in any policy offered by the issuer. Such enrollment period shall be the same as the annual, coordinated election period under section 1851(e)(3) for the year.

(2) Guaranteed issue.— During the enrollment period described in paragraph (1), the issuer of a medicare supplemental policy may not deny or condition the issuance or effectiveness of a medicare supplemental policy, or discriminate in the pricing of the policy, because of health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, or medical condition in the case of an individual who seeks to enroll in the policy during such period.

(3) Noncompliance.— The provisions of subsection (s)(4) shall apply to a failure to meet the requirements of paragraph (2) in the same manner as such provisions apply to a failure to meet the requirements of subsection (s).”.

(b) Outreach program.— Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall update the applicable information relating to the Medicare program that is provided in the notices commonly referred to as “Medicare & You” and “Welcome to Medicare” pursuant to section 1804 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395b–2) to include information on the effect of the amendment made by this section.