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Medicare For All Act
S. 1218
Kennedy (D-MA)
H.R. 2034
Dingell (D-MI)
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Medicare access for all/Universal health coverage. Would amend the SSA to make Medicare accessible to every American not currently eligible for Medicare. Would phase-in expanded Medicare eligibility over a five-year period. During the first two years of the program would expand Medicare eligibility to eligible individuals who are 55–64 years old and young adults and children up to the age of 25. During the second two years of the program, would expand Medicare eligibility to eligible individuals under age 35 and over age 45. Access to Medicare would be available to all Americans after five years. Under the program, comprehensive benefits would include the full range and scope of benefits currently provided under Medicare Part A and B, preventive services, mental health parity, and prescription drug coverage equivalent to the BC/BS Standard Option offered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) in 2007. Eligible individuals would automatically be enrolled in the expanded Medicare program, with the option of, instead, choosing any private health plan available to members of Congress under the FEHBP. The health system itself would remain private, and doctors, hospitals and other providers would continue to operate as independent, private entities, with the program administered by private carriers and intermediaries. The bill would be financed primarily by a combination of payroll taxes (7% payroll tax on employers and 1.7% tax on employees’ wages in excess of $25,000, indexed for inflation) and general revenues that would be substituted for private payments. |
These bills were Introduced on April 25, 2007. S. 1218 was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. H.R. 2034 was referred to the House Energy and Commerce, the House Oversight and Government Reform, and the House Ways and Means Committees. |
Evaluation of S 2229, “Medicare for All,” against the National Coalition for Health Care’s Specifications and PrinciplesSummary:This is a proposal for universal health care based on expanding Medicare in phases to cover all ages. In addition, it expands Medicare coverage to include: the same drug coverage as in the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan; Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Services for individuals under age 21; mental health services; preventive services; and home and community based services. Private insurance can be offered as long as it is at least as good as the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan. Individuals can also elect to keep any insurance they get through their employer. Enrollment is automatic for all legal residents of the United States. The plan would be funded through payroll taxes, general revenues, and individual cost-sharing contributions. The plan saves money by extending coverage to all (providing administrative savings and savings due to preventive care) and by supporting health care information technology and quality care through incentives. Note; S 1218 and S 2229 are the same bills, submitted different years. Click on the underlined title for a detailed RMAC evaluation of the bill.
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United States National Health Insurance Act (or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act)
H.R. 676
Conyers (D-MI)
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Medicare access for all/Universal health coverage. Would, among other things, establish the United Sates National Health Insurance (USNHI) Program, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that all Americans have legally guaranteed access to the highest quality and most cost effective health care services regardless of their employment, income, or health status. The bill would create a publicly financed, privately delivered health care system that uses the already existing Medicare program by expanding and improving it to all U.S. residents, and all residents living in U.S. territories. The USNHI Program would cover all medically necessary services, including primary care, inpatient care, outpatient care, emergency care, prescription drugs, durable medical equipment, long term care, mental health services, dental care, vision care, chiropractic, and substance abuse treatment. Individuals would have their choice of physicians, providers, hospitals, clinics and practices. Individuals would not be subject to co-payments or deductibles. Private health insurers would be prohibited from selling coverage that duplicates the benefit under the USNHI Program (with exceptions for coverage for cosmetic surgery, and other medically unnecessary treatments). The conversion to a not-for-profit health care system would take place over a 15 year period. Financing for the USNHI Program would come from a variety of sources, including current Federal and State funding of existing health care programs, a new payroll tax on all employers of 3.3%, a new 5% health tax on the top 5% of income earners, a new “small” tax on stock and bond transfers, the closing of corporate tax loop-holes, and a repeal of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts. |
Introduced on January 24, 2007, and referred to the House Energy and Commerce, the House Natural Resources, and the House Ways and Means Committees.
Although unlikely to be enacted into law, the bill represents a polar opposite approach to relying on market mechanisms to expand health coverage. |
Evaluation of HR 676, “Medicare for All,” against the National Coalition for Health Care’s Specifications and PrinciplesSummary:The “Medicare for All” bill addresses nearly all of the specifications and principles that the NCHC states are necessary to reform our nation’s health care. It does so by creating a single-payer, universal plan in which the federal government is the payer. Moreover, it dismantles much of the present health care system by eliminating all for-profit hospitals and health care providers and limiting the role of private insurance to providing only supplemental coverage. Note; click on the underlined title for a detailed RMAC evaluation of the bill.
Source: Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Chart — Health and Welfare
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Health Care Reform 
