# Plain Language Summary: Language Access for Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2023

Right now, Medicare sends out important annual notifications to seniors and other beneficiaries, but these notices are only available in English and Spanish. This bill requires Medicare to translate those yearly notifications into additional languages so that more people can understand what's happening with their healthcare coverage. The goal is straightforward: make sure that non-English speakers don't miss critical information about their Medicare benefits just because they can't read English.

The bill specifically says that Medicare should prioritize translating these notices into languages that the Social Security Administration already uses for its documents, as well as languages that people most commonly request when applying for Social Security benefits. This makes practical sense because it means using translation resources that already exist rather than starting from scratch. So if a significant number of Medicare beneficiaries speak Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, or another language, they'd be more likely to get their Medicare notices in that language.

The real-world impact is that seniors and disabled people who speak languages other than English and Spanish will be able to understand important information about their coverage, deadlines for enrollment, changes to their plans, and other critical Medicare details. This matters because missing enrollment deadlines or not understanding coverage changes can result in people losing benefits or paying unexpected costs. The bill takes effect for notices sent out before Medicare's open enrollment periods starting in 2024, so the changes would begin rolling out relatively soon after the bill becomes law.

Language Access for Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2023

Gomez, Jimmy

Language Access for Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2023 This bill requires the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS) to translate the annual explanation of Medicare benefits for enrollees into multiple languages, besides English and Spanish. The CMS must prioritize languages into which Social Security documents are translated or that are most frequently requested for purposes of Social Security benefits applications.