Medicare for All Act

Key Points

• The bill creates a single national health insurance plan for every person living in the United States. It would cover almost all medical needs, including hospital visits, primary care, dental, vision, hearing, mental health, and long-term care for seniors and people with disabilities.
• Patients would not have to pay any premiums, deductibles, or copays when they see a doctor or go to the hospital. The government would pay medical bills directly to health care providers, and doctors would be forbidden from sending extra bills to patients for covered services.
• Private insurance companies and employers would be banned from selling or providing health plans that cover the same things as the new national program. However, they could still sell insurance for extra services that the government plan does not cover.
• The program would start fully in two years, but children under 19 and adults over 55 would be able to join after just one year. During the transition, people could also choose to buy into a temporary version of the plan through existing health insurance marketplaces.
• To pay for the system, the government would combine money currently used for programs like Medicare and Medicaid into a new national trust fund. The bill also calls for using new tax revenue to help cover the costs of providing care to everyone.
• The government would negotiate the prices for prescription drugs and medical equipment directly with manufacturers to keep costs down. If the government and a drug company cannot agree on a fair price, the bill allows other companies to make that drug to ensure it stays affordable.