Congress blocks automatic Medicare Advantage enrollment without consent
H.R. 6114 — To prohibit funds made available to the Department of Health and Human Services by previous Appropriations Acts from being used for any activity that makes Medicare Advantage the default under the Medicare program. · Filed by Mark Pocan (D-WI) · 16 cosponsors · Introduced Nov 18, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from using appropriated funds to automatically enroll Medicare beneficiaries into Medicare Advantage plans if they do not actively choose a plan themselves. It blocks any HHS activity that would make Medicare Advantage the default option for people entitled to traditional Medicare (Parts A and B) who fail to make an election.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to prevent automatic enrollment of Medicare beneficiaries into private Medicare Advantage plans, protecting beneficiary choice and preserving traditional Medicare as the default option for those who do not actively elect otherwise.
What the text implies
- The bill does not prohibit HHS from promoting or educating beneficiaries about MA plans; it only blocks automatic enrollment of non-electors, leaving room for continued outreach.
- By preserving traditional Medicare as the default, the bill may reduce MA enrollment growth and affect the revenue streams of private insurers offering MA plans.
- The bill's scope is limited to current fiscal year appropriations; future appropriations could be used for MA default activities unless this prohibition is renewed or made permanent.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill protects Medicare beneficiaries from automatic enrollment into private Medicare Advantage plans without their explicit choice, preserving access to traditional Medicare and maintaining individual agency in plan selection. Beneficiaries retain the right to choose MA if they wish, but are not defaulted into it.
Named in the bill
Department of Health and Human Services, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Social Security Act, Title XVIII (Medicare), Part A (Hospital Insurance), Part B (Medical Insurance), Part C (Medicare Advantage)
Where it stands
16 cosponsors: 16 Democrats.
- Nov 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Nov 18, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce and House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
3 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $270,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 17 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.
Mark Pocan, the sponsor, reported $474,320 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Direct Supply, Inc. — $230,000 on 1 filing
- Center for Health and Democracy — $20,000 on 1 filing
- Social Security Works — $20,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,919 characters) on Jun 3, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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