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Writer's pictureAshley Parker

Our “Sicker, Poorer America” Needs Help

The Democrat-proposed budget, called the American Revival Act, introduces much-needed healthcare reform. In Monday’s floor session, Senator Warren stressed the importance of these provisions.


“Lots of Americans who should have access to care don’t because Republicans in red states have blocked Medicaid expansion leaving millions of Americans out in the cold,” says Warren. The budget directly addresses this issue by creating a federal Medicaid program for all states, regardless of whether they’ve opted into Medicare coverage in the past. This will allow all Americans living under the poverty line access to Medicaid.


The budget also introduces a public option for Medicare and Medicaid, which allows those that don’t qualify for these programs already to buy into them. This public option will be “cheaper than buying private insurance largely because Medicare has more bargaining power in negotiating the price of healthcare,” says Warren. The budget allocates $3 billion to the Department of Health in Human Services in order to establish this public option.


With America as the most expensive country in the world to buy pharmaceutical drugs, the American Revival Act also strengthens the federal government’s ability to negotiate drug prices. The budget “will allow Medicare to directly negotiate prices with drug manufacturers and require manufacturers to pay rebates to Medicare if their prices rise faster than inflation” (S.R. 208). “This gives Medicare and Medicaid more of an ability to push back against drug companies that are basically extorting people who need their medication to live,” says Warren.


“The most important thing is that the cost of care will go down as a result of these provisions and at the same time it will expand access for millions of Americans,” says Warren.


After the resolution to consider the budget in committee passed 20-14 on the floor Monday, Warren is hopeful for the future of the budget. “I have some hope that even some Republicans might get on board with this budget as we move closer to Friday when we’re planning to have a floor vote on this measure,” she says.


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