Affordable CHOICE Act

Key Points

• This bill would create a new government-run health insurance plan, often called a "public option," that people could choose on the official insurance exchanges. It would offer three levels of coverage—Bronze, Silver, and Gold—similar to the private plans already available.
• The goal is to provide more competition in the insurance market, which could help lower prices for families. The government would manage the plan directly instead of hiring a private insurance company to do it.
• Doctors and hospitals that already take Medicare or Medicaid would automatically be part of this new plan's network unless they specifically choose to opt out. This helps ensure that people who sign up can actually find a doctor nearby.
• The plan is designed to pay for itself. While the government would provide some money to get it started, that money must be paid back over 10 years. After that, the plan would rely entirely on the monthly premiums paid by the people who sign up for it.
• If the government and healthcare providers can't agree on how much services should cost, the plan will default to paying the same rates that Medicare currently pays. This could lead to lower costs for patients but might face pushback from some medical groups.