Washington, DC — House Democrats, led by Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ-06), passed key Medicaid measures of the American Rescue Plan out of the Energy and Commerce Committee last night. This bill would incentivize the 12 remaining holdout states to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. If these states expanded Medicaid, nearly four million uninsured adults — including 640,000 frontline workers — could gain coverage. In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:
“This is a big week for health care in America. The Medicaid provisions in this bill are historic and incredibly popular with Americans. Medicaid expansion has played a vital role in reducing racial disparities in health care access and has served as a critical safety net for millions of Americans. Providing increased financial incentives for states to expand Medicaid could extend coverage to millions more. These provisions also work to reduce racial inequities by addressing the maternal mortality crisis, by enabling states to expand Medicaid coverage to new mothers 12 months postpartum. House Democrats are taking decisive action to deliver on their health care promises to lower costs and get more people covered right as Americans need it most, as they deal with the health and economic catastrophe caused by the pandemic. Democrats are using every method they can to get Americans relief, and Republicans should be ashamed of trying to block these efforts.”