House Reps Introduce Medicare-For-All Bill

Bob Herman | Becker's Hospital Review | February 14, 2013

For the 11th straight year, Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) has proposed the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, legislation that would establish a universal, single-payor healthcare program akin to Canada's and other developed countries' healthcare systems.

Rep. Conyers and 37 other House members introduced the bill, HR 676, which has been proposed in the House every year since 2003. Here are some elements of the bill:

•    All individuals residing in the United States and any territory of the United States would be covered under the "Medicare For All Program." Each person would have a unique healthcare card. 

•    Healthcare benefits covered under the program include: primary care, inpatient and outpatient care, emergency care, prescription drugs, durable medical equipment, long-term and palliative care, mental health services, dental services, vision and hearing, approved dietary and nutritional therapies and more. Essentially, the current Medicare program's benefits would be extended to everyone...