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[Pages S2561-S2562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CHOOSE MEDICARE ACT
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Choose
Medicare Act, which would strengthen the Affordable Care Act and help
reduce healthcare costs for all Americans.
This commonsense bill would create a public healthcare option based
on Medicare that would increase choice and competition in the
Affordable Care Act marketplaces, including California's state
exchange, Covered California.
I would also allow the Secretary of Health Human Services to
negotiate drug prices under Medicare, increase healthcare subsidies for
middle-income Americans, and allow the federal government to block
unreasonable health insurance rate increases.
The majority of Americans support expanding healthcare choices to
achieve universal coverage and lower costs for everyone. However, too
many Americans are still unable to afford a private plan that covers
the care they need. The Choose Medicare Act would fix this by creating
a public health insurance plan that would compete alongside private
insurers in the individual and group insurance marketplaces.
Known as Medicare Part E, the public option health plan would offer
comprehensive coverage and all of the benefits covered under
traditional Medicare. Every doctor that accepts traditional Medicare
would also be enrolled as a provider for the public health plan,
[[Page S2562]]
giving patients access to a large network of doctors across the
country. It would also benefit employers. Around half of Californians
receive their health insurance through their work. The Choose Medicare
Act would give them more options, allowing large employers to choose a
plan modeled on traditional Medicare for their workers. Just as they do
now, employers would cover a portion of the cost of their employees'
coverage.
Having access to this new public option would increase competition
and choice in the employer market, and the public plan's negotiating
power would help reduce health costs for employers, not just
individuals. Moreover, our bill would ensure that people who receive
their health coverage through the public option would be able to keep
their health insurance when they change employers. Americans would no
longer feel stuck in low-paying jobs because they are worried about
losing their health insurance.
The Choose Medicare Act would also provide funding for a new
reinsurance program to partially offset the high healthcare costs paid
by insurers for the sickest individuals. This reinsurance program would
improve insurer participation in the Affordable Care Act exchanges and
lower premiums for everyone. It would also give States the option to
use this funding to address high out of-pocket costs, such as
copayments, coinsurance, premiums, and deductibles.
I am proud to note that this bill includes rate review legislation I
have previously introduced to help keep insurance premiums down. Rather
than allowing American workers to suffer under excessive premium
increases, our bill would give the Secretary of Health and Human
Services the authority to review, modify, and reject unjustified
premium increases in States where the insurance commissioner does not
have that authority.
This review process has already been successful in States where it
was implemented. Our bill would ensure that everyone, regardless of
where they live, is protected from unreasonable premiums increases.
The rising cost of drug pricing is also a huge problem in our
healthcare system. Our bill would give the Secretary of Health and
Human Services the authority to negotiate lower drug prices with
manufacturers, reducing the amount patients pay at the pharmacy.
After 1 year of negotiations, if the Secretary and drug manufacturers
are unable to agree on a fair price, the Secretary will then be able to
use the price that the Department of Veterans Affairs or other Federal
agencies that purchase prescription drugs already use.
Finally, our bill would protect America's seniors enrolled in
traditional Medicare from unlimited out-of-pocket costs by adding an
annual out-of-pocket maximum for what they can pay. Seniors would no
longer be burdened with mounting medical costs because they are
enrolled in Medicare instead of private insurance.
I want to thank Senator Merkley and Senator Murphy for leading our
efforts on this important legislation. I urge my colleagues to join us
in supporting this much-needed, commonsense bill to strengthen the
Affordable Care Act, give consumers more choices when picking their
healthcare plan, and make healthcare more affordable for all.
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