Congresswomen Jayapal and Dingell introduce Medicare for All Act

Today, Congresswomen Pramila Jayapal and Debbie Dingell, along with 110 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2021. The Medicare for All Act of 2021 is a win for everyone in the US, and most importantly for older adults and people with disabilities.

The Medicare for All Act guarantees everyone coverage from the doctors and hospitals they want to use, with no deductibles, coinsurance or copays. It ends the practice of rationing care based on ability to pay and promotes health equity.

The Medicare for All Act covers long-term care, meaning nursing home care as well as home and community-based care, so that people can age in place. Older adults and people with disabilities would no longer have to go without long-term supports and services or go broke paying for them. 

The Medicare for All Act also improves Medicare benefits, adding hearing, dental and vision coverage. These benefits are covered in full, with no out-of-pocket costs.  

In addition, the Medicare for All act would enable the government to collect data on what’s working and not working in our health care system and to identify and respond to problems that need addressing. Right now, private health insurers hide that data, undermining health care system improvements.

As important, during a pandemic, Medicare for All would allow the government  to see where resources needed to be deployed and ensure that everyone received free testing and treatment. In sharp contrast, private insurers, including private Medicare Advantage plans, have kept millions of Americans from getting needed COVID-19 services and treatments. Their deductibles, copays and coinsurance have posed barriers to care.

Traditional Medicare–government administered public insurance–has proven itself to be far more cost effective than private insurance. It gives people the open access to doctors and hospitals that they want and need. It’s transparent. It allows the government to drive system improvements.

The Medicare for All Act expands traditional Medicare’s benefits and guarantees everyone in the US a cost-effective, high-value health care system that we all desperately need.

For all these reasons, Just Care USA strongly endorses the Medicare for All Act of 2021.

Here’s more from Just Care:

• Government agency finds Medicare for all saves money
• Medicare for all would rationalize the cost of care
• Medicare for All addresses racial injustice
• Medicare for all would save $600 billion a year in administrative costs
• What are the major differences between Medicare for all and a public option?