A bill from an independent · See the cosponsor
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill is known as the Stand Strong for Medicare Act. It amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare coverage for certain fall prevention items. These items include grab bars, non-slip mats, shower chairs, bed rails, and other items specified by the Secretary. To qualify for coverage, these items must be furnished pursuant to an order of a physician or practitioner. Payments for these fall prevention items are also exempted from any sequestration reductions. The changes made by the bill apply beginning sixty days after the date of enactment.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Section 2(a) adds fall prevention items like grab bars, non-slip mats, shower chairs, and bed rails to Medicare coverage. This is positive because it helps people get necessary safety equipment to prevent falls.
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Section 2(b) exempts payments for fall prevention items from sequestration reductions. This is positive because it ensures that funding and payments for these critical safety items will not be cut by budget rules.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Section 2(a)(2) requires that fall prevention items must be furnished pursuant to an order of a physician or practitioner to be covered. This could be considered a burden because individuals must go through the extra step of getting a doctor's order before Medicare will cover the items.
- 6/1/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 9/17/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Introduced in Senate
2 bills Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Kirsten GillibrandDemocrat · New York