Expressing support for States to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act to close the Medicaid coverage gap.

Bill: 118-hres-122
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Davis, Donald G. [D-NC-1]
Introduced: 2023-02-10
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health care coverage and access

Medicaid

State and local government operations
Latest action: action_date: 2023-02-17
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-02-10
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>This resolution urges states that have not yet expanded Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to do so. It also expresses support for H.R. 31, which establishes a demonstration program to allow local governments to provide health benefits to the Medicaid expansion population in states that have not expanded Medicaid.</p>

tv_txt: IV 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 122 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 10, 2023 Mr. Davis of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. Cohen , Mr. Johnson of Georgia , Mr. Doggett , Mr. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas , Mr. Allred , Mr. Thompson of Mississippi , and Ms. Ross ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Expressing support for States to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act to close the Medicaid coverage gap.

Whereas more than 2,200,000 low-income, uninsured adults fall into the Medicaid coverage gap because State governments have been unable to reach a consensus on expansion; Whereas closing the Medicaid coverage gap will reduce the national uninsured rate by nearly 10 percent; Whereas closing the Medicaid coverage gap will generate upward of $5,000,000,000 in revenue for State and local governments and nearly $130,000,000,000 for the Federal Government to reinvest in our communities; Whereas closing the Medicaid coverage gap will prevent hospital closures, particularly in rural areas that have seen more than 150 hospital closures in the last decade; Whereas hospitals were 6 times less likely to close in States that expanded Medicaid between 2008 and 2016; Whereas financial margins for hospitals improved by 33 percent because uncompensated care spending dropped following Medicaid expansion in the first 36 States to adopt it; Whereas 39 States governed by both Democratic and Republican elected officials have already adopted Medicaid expansion; Whereas it is unreasonable to expect an individual earning less than $13,000 per year to afford health insurance, regardless of employment status; Whereas 1 American who falls into the Medicaid coverage gap dies per day without access to lifesaving health care; Whereas communities of color have been disproportionately disadvantaged by the failure to expand Medicaid and close the coverage gap; and Whereas Congress has a responsibility to provide accessible, high-quality health care to all Americans regardless of socioeconomic status: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) urges the remaining 11 States that have yet to expand Medicaid and close the Medicaid coverage gap to do so; (2) expresses support for H.R. 31, the COVER Now Act, as a temporary measure to close the Medicaid coverage gap; (3) recognizes the economic and health care benefits of expanding Medicaid for hospitals, health care workers, the low-income, nonelderly, uninsured population in the coverage gap, and the labor market; and (4) will support the cause of expanding Medicaid to uninsured Americans in the coverage gap unless and until the 11 nonexpansion States move forward with expansion.