Title: Proposing a strategy to make Medicare available to all Americans.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Medicare should be made available to all Americans and that certain steps could be taken to reach this goal.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 532 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 532

   Proposing a strategy to make Medicare available to all Americans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2019

 Ms. Lofgren submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees 
  on Ways and Means, Natural Resources, and Veterans' Affairs, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Proposing a strategy to make Medicare available to all Americans.

Whereas the United States spends more money per capita on health care than any 
        other industrialized nation;
Whereas 80 percent of adults are dissatisfied with the total cost of health care 
        in the country;
Whereas 77 percent of Americans are concerned that rising health care costs will 
        damage the American economy;
Whereas 68 percent of Americans support a national health care plan;
Whereas the rate of uninsured individuals is at a 4-year high of 13.7 percent;
Whereas Medicare is consistently rated the most popular and efficient health 
        insurance system in the country;
Whereas 90 percent of adults aged 65 and older, with most adults in this group 
        qualifying for Medicare, rate both their care and coverage positively;
Whereas private health insurance coverage continues to be more prevalent than 
        government coverage, at 67.2 percent and 37.7 percent, respectively;
Whereas employer-based insurance was the most common subtype of private health 
        insurance coverage, at 56 percent;
Whereas 80 percent of adults rate the quality of health care received as 
        excellent or good;
Whereas 69 percent of adults rate their health care coverage as excellent or 
        good; and
Whereas 60 percent of Americans believe it is the Federal Government's 
        responsibility to ensure health care coverage: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) making Medicare an available insurance plan for all 
        Americans should be a unified goal despite differences in 
        proposed strategies to achieve it;
            (2) the complexity of the existing health care system in 
        the United States should be considered;
            (3) the desire of individuals to retain the ability to 
        choose their health care should be considered;
            (4) a serious effort to change the health care system will 
        require years of work;
            (5) a transition plan to reach this goal promptly could, as 
        initial steps--
                    (A) expand Medicare eligibility to allow every 
                individual who is aged 40 to 64 and not a full-benefit 
                Medicaid enrollee to buy into Medicare;
                    (B) offer Medicare on the individual market to all 
                age groups;
                    (C) allow employers to contribute money to the 
                Medicare program and offer it as a health care benefit 
                to their employees; and
                    (D) offer Medicare on the Exchanges established by 
                the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act;
            (6) after these initial steps, the Secretary of the 
        Department of Health and Human Services should conduct an 
        assessment to evaluate how many individuals remain outside of 
        the Medicare system and their reasons for declining enrollment;
            (7) the Secretary should use the findings of the assessment 
        to determine how the Medicare program can be extended to the 
        remaining individuals to enroll;
            (8) Medicare coverage should be expanded to include all 
        essential health benefits as outlined in the Patient Protection 
        and Affordable Care Act;
            (9) the Department of Veterans Affairs will continue to 
        have a role to play in providing quality health care and 
        expertise to the Nation's veterans; and
            (10) the Indian Health Service will continue to have a role 
        to play in providing quality health care and expertise to 
        Native Americans.
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