Rep. Veasey Co-Sponsors Bill to Create Medicaid-Style Program for Americans in Non-Expansion States Like Texas

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, issued the following news release:

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX-33) announced that he is an original co-sponsor of the Medicaid Saves Lives Act, legislation that would create a federal Medicaid-style program for those living in states like Texas that have refused to expand Medicaid. The bill, led by Reps. Terri Sewell (D-AL-7) Kathy Manning (D-NC-6), Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), Nikema Williams (D-GA-5), Lucy McBath (D-GA-6), Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) and Deborah Ross (D-NC-2), was introduced this week.

"Expanding affordable, accessible health care has been one of my top priorities in Congress," said Rep. Veasey. "This legislation would provide an important step forward to close the health care coverage gaps in states like my home state of Texas--a state that has one of the highest uninsured rates in the country--and ensure the most vulnerable Texans can have access to affordable and life-saving health care. It's imperative that more American lives won't be unjustly lost to the hands of the pandemic."

The Medicaid Saves Lives Act would address the coverage gap by creating a federal Medicaid look-alike program that is run and administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), providing the same full benefits of Medicaid. It would also add to the incentives in the American Rescue Plan Act by giving states additional and extended funding to expand Medicaid through a significant federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) increase. Since Congress already paid for Medicaid expansion in the Affordable Care Act, the federal Medicaid program in the Medicaid Saves Lives Act has already been funded once and should require no additional offsets.

Passing the Medicaid Saves Lives Act would:

- Increase free and affordable health coverage to millions of Americans;

- Expand access to health care and provide access to preventative health services;

- Improve health outcomes and prevent premature deaths;

- Reduce uncompensated care costs which would reduce the number of hospital and provider closures; and

- Improve economic mobility that would enable low-income individuals to work.

The program created in the Medicaid Saves Lives Act would also include the robust Medicaid benefits provided under the Affordable Care Act such as:

- All essential health benefits;

- Non-emergency medical transportation;

- Prescription drug benefits;

- Coverage for rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers;

- Preventative services;

- Maternity and newborn care;

- Mental health and substance use disorder care; and

- Hospitalization services.

Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA).

The Medicaid Saves Lives Act can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19QshDtWoxpDvqXCfNyWlJ2VyP7gHWUkk/view