S. 3018 · 117th Congress
Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2021
Introduced on Oct 20, 2021 by Roger Marshall (R-KS). 52 cosponsors, 29 of them from another party. Latest action (Oct 20, 2021): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Stage
- Introduced
- Introduced
- Oct 20, 2021
- Cosponsors
- 52
- 29 from the other party
- Policy area
- Health
Progress
The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.
- Introduced
- 2Reported by committee
- 3Passed one chamber
- 4Passed both chambers
- 5Sent to the President
- 6Became law
Official title
A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish requirements with respect to the use of prior authorization under Medicare Advantage plans, and for other purposes.
Subjects
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Congressional oversight
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Government trust funds
- Health care coverage and access
- Medicare
- Performance measurement
Summary
By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in Senate, Oct 20, 2021). Public domain.
Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2021
This bill establishes several requirements and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.
Specifically, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards, including the ability to provide real-time decisions in response to requests for items and services that are routinely approved; (2) annually publish specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.
Sponsor and cosponsors
Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.
Democrats · 28
- Sherrod BrownD-OHoriginal
- Mark KellyD-AZsigned on Nov 4, 2021
- Thomas R. CarperD-DEsigned on Nov 18, 2021
- Chris Van HollenD-MDsigned on Dec 15, 2021
- Tina SmithD-MNsigned on Dec 16, 2021
- Jon TesterD-MTsigned on Jan 18, 2022
- Richard BlumenthalD-CTsigned on Jan 31, 2022
- Debbie StabenowD-MIsigned on Feb 8, 2022
- Amy KlobucharD-MNsigned on Mar 15, 2022
- Sheldon WhitehouseD-RIsigned on Mar 15, 2022
- Kirsten E. GillibrandD-NYsigned on May 2, 2022
- Michael F. BennetD-COsigned on May 17, 2022
- Gary C. PetersD-MIsigned on May 17, 2022
- Robert P. Casey, Jr.D-PAsigned on May 24, 2022
- Tim KaineD-VAsigned on May 24, 2022
- Jeff MerkleyD-ORsigned on Jun 8, 2022
- Christopher MurphyD-CTsigned on Jun 13, 2022
- Edward J. MarkeyD-MAsigned on Jul 12, 2022
- Dianne FeinsteinD-CAsigned on Jul 28, 2022
- Martin HeinrichD-NMsigned on Sep 7, 2022
- John W. HickenlooperD-COsigned on Sep 22, 2022
- Jeanne ShaheenD-NHsigned on Sep 22, 2022
- Margaret Wood HassanD-NHsigned on Nov 14, 2022
- Elizabeth WarrenD-MAsigned on Nov 14, 2022
- Benjamin L. CardinD-MDsigned on Nov 16, 2022
- Christopher A. CoonsD-DEsigned on Dec 14, 2022
- Alex PadillaD-CAsigned on Dec 14, 2022
- Jacky RosenD-NVsigned on Dec 14, 2022
Independents · 1
- Kyrsten SinemaI-AZoriginal
Republicans · 23
- John ThuneR-SDoriginal
- Mike RoundsR-SDsigned on Nov 4, 2021
- Bill CassidyR-LAsigned on Nov 18, 2021
- Susan M. CollinsR-MEsigned on Dec 15, 2021
- John BoozmanR-ARsigned on Dec 16, 2021
- Cindy Hyde-SmithR-MSsigned on Jan 18, 2022
- Thom TillisR-NCsigned on Jan 18, 2022
- Kevin CramerR-NDsigned on Jan 31, 2022
- Mike BraunR-INsigned on Feb 8, 2022
- Marsha BlackburnR-TNsigned on Mar 15, 2022
- Josh HawleyR-MOsigned on Mar 15, 2022
- Shelley Moore CapitoR-WVsigned on May 2, 2022
- John HoevenR-NDsigned on May 17, 2022
- Jerry MoranR-KSsigned on May 17, 2022
- Roger F. WickerR-MSsigned on Jun 8, 2022
- Cynthia M. LummisR-WYsigned on Jun 13, 2022
- Lisa MurkowskiR-AKsigned on Jul 12, 2022
- Rick ScottR-FLsigned on Jul 12, 2022
- Marco RubioR-FLsigned on Jul 28, 2022
- John KennedyR-LAsigned on Sep 13, 2022
- James LankfordR-OKsigned on Sep 13, 2022
- Rob PortmanR-OHsigned on Sep 14, 2022
- Deb FischerR-NEsigned on Nov 14, 2022
Roll calls
Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.
No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.
History
Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.
- Oct 20, 2021Introduced in Senate
- Oct 20, 2021 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Committees
Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.
Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction
Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.
Who lobbied on it
Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.
- COLLEGE OF AMERICAN PATHOLOGISTS7 reports$1.2M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: COLLEGE OF AMERICAN PATHOLOGISTS$18M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 99%
- McKesson Corporation & affiliates U.S. Oncology and Rx Savings Solutions6 reports$5.4M reported (all issues)
- HUMANA INC.5 reports$7M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: HUMANA GOVERNMENT BUSINESS INC$5.6B in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center3 reports$420K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER$1.6M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
- KAISER FOUNDATION HEALTH PLAN INC.3 reports$1.1M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: KAISER FOUNDATION HEALTH PLAN OF WASHINGTONAI match · 97%
- National Alliance on Mental Illness3 reports$40K reported (all issues)
- ASSOCIATION FOR CLINICAL ONCOLOGY1 report
- American Medical Rehabilitation Provider Association1 report$100K reported (all issues)
- Independence Blue Cross, LLC1 report$220K reported (all issues)
Reports filed in 2023, 2024, 2025.
Sources and method
Every figure on this page traces to these records.
- Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
- Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
- House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
- Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
- Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
- Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
- Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.