Video: Kaine, Bennet, Colleagues Reintroduce Medicare-X Choice Act to Make Health Care More Affordable and Accessible

VIDEO AVAILABLE HERE

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Michael Bennet (D-CO) reintroduced the Medicare-X Choice Act, legislation that would create a public option by building on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicare frameworks. The Medicare Exchange (Medicare-X) plan would offer families, individuals, and small businesses affordable health insurance, decrease the number of uninsured Americans, control the cost of health care, and increase competition in the health insurance market. This bill comes as more than 14 million Americans are set to lose their health care coverage as a result of Republicans' $1 trillion cut to Medicaid and the expiration of critical premium tax credits.

"Access to high-quality and affordable health care is essential to the health and well-being of our communities. This year, Republicans have decimated health care and have yet to come to the table to extend critical enhanced premium tax credits to prevent health care costs from skyrocketing. My hope is that in the coming days, my Republican colleagues will join us in voting for legislation to extend critical enhanced premium tax credits while we work together on long-term solutions to expand care," said Kaine. "One of those solutions is passing my Medicare-X Choice Act to provide Americans with another option to get affordable health insurance."

"Our health care system repeatedly fails to give working Americans the care they need," said Bennet. "Now, millions face even greater barriers to accessing affordable health care due to the largest cuts to Medicaid in history. Countless families are also grappling with the possibility of losing their coverage due to skyrocketing premiums as time runs out to extend critical ACA tax credits. In the wake of a looming health care crisis, Medicare-X will give everyone an affordable option regardless of where they live, reduce health care costs, and improve the quality of available insurance. We have a responsibility to create the best health care system possible, achieve universal coverage in our country, and save millions of Americans from being thrown off their health insurance. We can do that through Medicare-X."

The ACA expanded health insurance coverage to an additional 20 million Americans, established critical protections for patients with pre-existing conditions, and standardized essential health benefits for all qualified plans. However, many Americans still face high health care costs and limited options for affordable insurance.

This legislation would work within the Medicare and ACA frameworks to establish a Medicare Exchange public option plan in every county in America for individuals, families, and small businesses, providing an additional, affordable option in all communities. It would also permanently extend enhanced premium tax credits to make all exchange options even more affordable.

Medicare-X plans would cover essential health benefits like other qualified health plans, including maternity and newborn care, pediatric services, and mental and behavioral health care. The plan expands on these benefits by covering primary care services without any cost-sharing for plan holders. A 2022 report from the Urban Institute showed that Medicare-X would reduce the number of uninsured people by 1.1 million, save households $10.9 billion, and cut spending on health care by $456 billion over a ten year period.

In addition to Kaine and Bennet, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tina Smith (D-MN), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). Kaine and Bennet first introduced the Medicare-X Choice Act in 2017.

Full text of the resolution is available here. A summary is available here.

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