I won’t let that happen, and am committed to protecting this important program for generations to come.
Protect Medicare for generations to come.
Occurrences
Evidence
Sponsor: Rep. Kelly, Mike [R-PA-16] (Introduced 06/12/2024). Official title: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish requirements with respect to the use of prior authorization under Medicare Advantage plans. Latest Action: House - 12/17/2024 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. Tracker: This bill has the status Introduced.
Rep. Mike Kelly reintroduced H.R. 3514, the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act. He said the bill would move the health care sector into the 21st century by giving doctors and Medicare Advantage plans the tools to make health coverage decisions in a timely manner.
The House Ways and Means Committee passed the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act, and the bill advanced to the full House of Representatives for consideration. The release says the bill modernizes the prior authorization process in Medicare Advantage.
Kelly and colleagues said an HHS/CMS announcement pledges to ease the Medicare Advantage prior authorization process and includes several provisions contained in their legislation. They said the pledge follows years of legislative progress led by Kelly and congressional colleagues.
All Actions show the bill was introduced in the House on 06/12/2024 and later referred to the Subcommittee on Health on 12/17/2024. The tracker says the bill has the status Introduced.
The official homepage carousel highlights a June 2026 Medicare-related update saying Kelly, DelBene, Joyce, and Bera celebrated a milestone for the Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act, noting the bill reached 290 House cosponsors.
Kelly said in a Ways & Means hearing that Medicare fraud, errors, and abuse should be weeded out because they cost taxpayers more than $60 billion a year; he also called for greater oversight and questioned what fraud-prevention methods Medicare Advantage plans use that traditional Medicare does not.
Assessments
Kelly repeatedly advanced Medicare Advantage prior-authorization reform through committee, reintroduced the bill, and praised related HHS/CMS movement, but the core promise to protect Medicare was not actually delivered as enacted law or a completed federal policy. The main legislative vehicle stalled after introduction, so this is a serious but unsuccessful attempt rather than fulfillment.
Kelly made concrete Medicare-related efforts, including sponsoring and reintroducing the Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act and advancing it through committee, and HHS/CMS later adopted or pledged changes aligned with parts of that prior-authorization agenda. However, the cited Kelly legislation did not become law, and the evidence does not show a completed, durable federal outcome amounting to broadly protecting Medicare for future generations. The record supports meaningful same-term effort and limited policy movement, but not full delivery of the promise.
Kelly made concrete Medicare-related efforts, especially by introducing and reintroducing the Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act and advancing Medicare Advantage prior-authorization reforms through committee. HHS/CMS later moved in a similar direction administratively. However, the evidence does not show that Kelly delivered the broad promised outcome of protecting Medicare for generations, nor that his main legislative vehicle became law. The strongest supported finding is partial progress with serious effort during the same term.