PAYMENT OF PART B PREMIUM LATE ENROLLMENT PENALTIES BY STATES.

SEC. 144. PAYMENT OF PART B PREMIUM LATE ENROLLMENT PENALTIES BY STATES. Section 1839 (42 U.S.C. 1395r) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(g) (1) Upon the request of a State, the Secretary may enter into an agreement with the State under which the State agrees to pay on a quarterly or other periodic basis to the Secretary (to be deposited in the Treasury to the credit of the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund) an amount equal to the amount of the part B late enrollment premium increases with respect to the premiums for eligible individuals (as defined in paragraph (3)(A)). “(2) No part B late enrollment premium increase shall apply to an eligible individual for premiums for months for which the amount of such an increase is payable under an agreement under paragraph (1). “(3) In this subsection: “(A) The term ‘eligible individual’ means an individual who is enrolled under this part B and who is within a class of individuals specified in the agreement under paragraph (1). “(B) The term ‘part B late enrollment premium increase’ means any increase in a premium as a result of the application of subsection (b).”.