US SB1261 | 2019-2020 | 116th Congress

Status

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)
Status: Introduced on May 1 2019 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2019-05-01 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Pending: Senate Finance Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Summary

Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish public health insurance plans and addresses health insurance costs. Such public plans must be offered on health insurance exchanges and (1) meet the requirements of a qualified health plan; (2) cover benefits at the gold plan level; and (3) cover reproductive services, including abortions. Additionally, the bill makes a series of changes related to health insurance costs, including requiring employers to refer employees to health care navigators to assist with enrollment, establishing an annual limit on out-of-pocket costs for services under Medicare, providing HHS with the authority to negotiate prices under the Medicare prescription drug benefit program, expanding the premium-assistance credit by benchmarking the credit amount to the second-lowest cost gold plan and increasing the income threshold for eligibility, requiring qualified health plans to reduce cost sharing for low-income plan holders, providing funding for states to provide reinsurance to health insurance issuers and to assist individuals with out-of-pocket costs for plans offered through health insurance exchanges, applying the premium rate-setting requirements to large group health plans, and requiring HHS or states to take corrective actions to address unreasonable premium rates set by insurance issuers.

Tracking Information

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Title

Choose Medicare Act

Sponsors


History

DateChamberAction
2019-05-01SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Same As/Similar To

HB2463 (Same As) 2019-12-10 - Subcommittee Hearings Held.
SB964 (Related) 2019-04-01 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
HB6136 (Related) 2020-03-09 - Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Subjects


US Congress State Sources


Bill Comments

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