CONYERS Reintroduces Single Payer Health Care Bill

Washington, DC - Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) reintroduced H.R. 676, “The Expanded And Improved Medicare For All Act.” This bill would establish a privately-delivered, publicly-financed universal health care system, where patients, their physicians, and non-profit health care providers would be in charge of medical decisions -- not insurance companies. H.R. 676 would expand and improve the highly popular Medicare program and provide universal access to care to all Americans. The program would be primarily funded by a modest payroll tax on employers and employees, a financial transaction tax, and higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

Congressman Conyers issued the following statement on the reintroduction of the bill:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“It’s my pleasure to once again reintroduce H.R. 676, ‘The Expanded And Improved Medicare For All Act,’ in the 115th Congress. I have introduced the bill in each Congress since 2003 and I will continue to do so until the bill is passed.

“Passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was a step in the right direction. It has provided health insurance to millions of our nation’s uninsured and eliminated many of the worst practices of the private health insurance industry. Rather than repealing it and taking a step back, we should build on that progress by expanding Medicare to All.

“The data is clear that simply expanding Medicare to all Americans to create a single-payer system would be far more efficient. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. spends more than 17% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on healthcare, while countries with single-payer systems like France, Germany, Canada, the UK, and Australia spend 9-11% of GDP. In addition to paying a fraction of what we do for healthcare, those countries enjoy better outcomes and higher satisfaction than in the United States.

“Single-payer isn’t just the moral thing to do or a good government issue, it’s what Americans want. Many leading health care practitioners and experts share my belief and that of most Americans that establishing a non-profit universal health care system would be the best way to effectively contain health care costs and provide quality care for all Americans. I look forward to my colleagues joining me in supporting a universal, single-payer health care system.”

H.R.676 has been introduced in Congress since 2003, and has a broad base of support among universal health care activists, organized labor, physicians, nurses, and social justice organizations across the nation. The bill has been endorsed by 20 international unions, Physicians For A National Health Program, two former editors of the New England Journal of Medicine, National Nurses United, the American Medical Students Association, Progressive Democrats of America, Public Citizen, and the NAACP. Last year, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found 67 percent of Americans support “Medicare for All.”

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Statement of the Honorable John Conyers, Jr. for the Hearing on the “Federal Government on Autopilot: Mandatory Spending and the Entitlement Crisis”

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Once again, in its 7^th hearing to date, this Task Force is considering old wine in new bottles.

Unfortunately, today’s hearing is just the latest in a decades-old line of attack by conservatives on America’s longstanding commitments to aid the elderly and the poor. 

As we consider the arguments made today, we should keep a few points in mind.

To begin with, efforts to curb “mandatory spending” and stopping the so-called “entitlement crisis” are really intended to slash programs, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

These programs comprise the great majority of mandatory spending in the federal budget.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, Medicare and Medicaid alone made up 40 percent of all mandatory spending in fiscal year 2015.

And, Social Security, Medicare, and the federal share of Medicaid – the largest mandatory spending programs – comprised 50.6% of all federal spending.

The budget deficit and the future solvency of the trusts that fund Social Security and Medicare are important issues that merit discussion.

But instead of putting forth a serious proposal that would help raise revenue, the Majority proposes to funnel these and other important social safety net programs through the annual appropriations process, a process that often becomes mired in partisan division.

And while the Majority may protest that they would leave Social Security and Medicare alone, keep in mind that the other important social safety net programs such as Food Stamps (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) only account for approximately 10 percent of mandatory spending.

If the Majority’s plan for reducing the federal deficit relies on cuts alone, you cannot do so simply by cutting funding for these other important social safety net programs through the appropriations process. 

Subjecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid recipients to an annual appropriations process threatens to harm the basic economic well-being of seniors and working people in need.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, without any government income assistance, either from safety net programs or programs like Social Security, the Nation’s poverty rate would have been 27% in 2014, almost double the recorded rate of 15%.

Imagine the harm it would do to the most vulnerable members of our society if the funding for these programs were held hostage to yearly budget negotiations or benefits were withheld because of a government shutdown.

Unfortunately, given the Majority’s track record, this scenario is entirely possible, if not likely.

Finally, Mandatory spending provisions are not an historical accident whereby Congress gave away too much power to the Executive.  Rather, they reflect Congress’ commitment to the American people to care for the elderly after a lifetime of hard work and to aid the working poor.

Mandatory spending for programs like Social Security and Medicare is based on the need to ensure stability in these and other vital programs so that the most vulnerable in our society can be assured of minimum income levels to meet their basic human needs.

Proposing to subject these and other programs to the annual appropriations process is not a serious proposal. 

It is merely another attempt to denigrate the working poor and the elderly as undeserving “takers,” something with which I will not abide. 

Nevertheless, I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today and I thank them for their participation.

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Medicare at 50: A Cost-Effective and Compassionate Model

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

WASHINGTON – Thursday, July 30, 2015,  U.S. Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) will host a special forum, “Medicare at 50: A Cost-Effective and Compassionate Model.”  Wendell Potter, health insurance whistleblower and Senior Analyst at the Center for Public Integrity, will moderate the event.  The forum will highlight the successful Medicare program, the advancement and challenges of the Affordable Care Act, and the proposed “Medicare for All” healthcare system will be discussed among the featured panelists.

WHO: Rep. Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI)

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA)                     

Wendell Potter, moderator, Health Insurance Whistleblower, Center for Public Integrity

Robert Weissman, President, Public Citizen

Michael Lighty, Director of Public Policy, National Nurses United

Robert Zarr, President, Physicians for a National Health Program

Andrea Miller, Executive Director, People Demanding Action 

      Don Berwick (via video), former administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid    

      Services

WHAT:  Forum to discuss the successes of Medicare, review the major advances and challenges of the Affordable Care Act, and chart a path towards the proposed “Medicare for All” healthcare system.

WHEN:   Thursday, July 30, 2015 for 1:00p.m. to 2:45p.m.45 p.m.

WHERE:  2237 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. (map)     

The event will be streamed live and can be viewed at https://youtu.be/cqopRQ1kT-s

Rep. John Conyers (MI-13) is the last remaining member of Congress to have voted for the passage of Medicare in 1965.  He is the lead sponsor of H.R. 676, “The Expanded & Improved Medicare for All Act,” which would create a single-payer healthcare system in the United States.

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Conyers, Sanders Lead Call For Expanding Social Security

              

WASHINGTON, July 12 –Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today joined with more than 70 members of Congress in calling on President Obama to expand Social Security.

The letter to the president came on the eve of a historic conference on aging, convened once every 10 years to get the entire country talking about issues relating to older Americans.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“A clear majority of Americans support expanding Social Security,” wrote Conyers, Sanders and other lawmakers.  “As employers continue moving from a defined benefit model to a defined contribution model of retirement savings, it is critical that we fight to protect and expand Social Security – the only guaranteed source of income in retirement.”

“The aging conference that opens tomorrow,” wrote the lawmakers, “presents an excellent opportunity to open a discussion on expanding Social Security benefits.”

The conference, which is being hosted by the White House, runs all day tomorrow and includes discussions about healthy aging, long-term services, elder security and retirement security.

Joining Rep. Conyers and Sen. Sanders, the letter to the president was signed by 68 House members and Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)

Letter of Reps. John Conyers and Bernie Sanders to President to Expand Social Security

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REP. CONYERS AND 44 HOUSE DEMOCRATS REINTRODUCED “THE EXPANDED AND IMPROVED MEDICARE FOR ALL ACT”

WASHINGTON – On February 3, 2015, Congressman John Conyers (MI-13), joined by 44 Democratic  Members of Congress reintroduced H.R. 676, “The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act.”  The bill, which has been introduced in every Congress since 2003, would have the United States join the rest of the industrialized world in adopting a single-payer model for healthcare financing.

Under H.R. 676, every resident of the United States would receive a card at birth that would guarantee access to a full range of medically-necessary services that include primary care, dental, prescription drugs, mental health and long term care.  The bill places no restrictions on choice of physician or health care provider.  

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“While Obamacare has been a step in the right direction, people across the country understand that a single-payer healthcare system is the only way to guarantee quality care and sustainably cut costs,” Rep. Conyers said.  “While I continue to be a strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act, which has brought health insurance to 19 million Americans, I remain deeply concerned for the nearly 13 percent of U.S. adults that still lack coverage.  H.R. 676 would also eliminate the out-of-pocket medical expenses that lead many to forgo needed treatment, prolonging illness and resulting in increased financial costs when the condition is eventually treated.” 

The reintroduction of H.R. 676 comes after a new poll found that more than half of Americans—including 80 percent of Democrats and a quarter of Republicans—support expanding health reform to “Medicare for All.”  The reintroduction also came on the same day as House Republicans voted for the 56th time to undermine or repeal the Affordable Care Act.

A recent study demonstrated that 21 percent of Americans spent 5 percent or more of their income on out-of-pocket costs and 13 percent of Americans spent 10 percent or more.

“While the Affordable Care Act has made great strides in addressing these issues, it is time we leave the burdensome multi-payer healthcare model behind and join the rest of the industrialized world,” Conyers added.

The United States currently spends almost twice as much per person on healthcare as any other country, but key outcomes—life expectancy, infant mortality and preventable deaths—lag behind other nations.  A recent Commonwealth Fund study ranked the US healthcare system last among 11 highly-developed countries on measures of quality, efficiency and access.  Another recent study found that billing and insurance-related administrative expenses cost the American people $471 billion in 2012.  At least 80 percent of that extraordinary cost was, according to the study, due to inefficiencies in our for-profit multi-payer healthcare system.

H.R. 676 has the support of 26 international unions, Physicians For A National Health Program, two former editors of the New England Journal of Medicine, National Nurses United, the American Medical Students Association, Progressive Democrats of America, and the NAACP.

Original Congressional co-sponsors of the measure included Reps. Katherine Clark (D-MA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Michael Doyle (D-PA), Donna Edwards (D-MD), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Sam Farr (D-CA), Al Green (D-TX), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Mike Honda (D-CA), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), John Lewis (D-GA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rick Nolan (D-MN), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Robert Scott (D-VA), Mark Takano (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Peter Welch (D-VT), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Frederica Wilson (D-FL), John Yarmuth (D-KY), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Eliot Engel (D-NY), José E. Serrano (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Matt Cartwright (D-PA), Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-IL), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), James E. Clyburn (D-SC), Robert Brady (D-PA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), and Karen Bass (D-CA).

HR 676 Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act 2015

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Conyers Flags $301 Million in Prescription Drug Savings for Michigan Seniors Under the Affordable Care Act

(DETROIT) – Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released new data showing that seniors and individuals with disabilities who have Medicare prescription drug plan coverage have saved $8.9 billion on prescription drugs due to provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that closed the “donut hole” coverage gap in Medicare Part D. In Michigan, 142,120 individuals with disabilities and seniors saved more than $142 million on prescription drugs in 2013 alone – an average of more than $1,000 for each beneficiary – and more than $301 million since passage of the Affordable Care Act. After the release of this new data, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“Prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, seniors and individuals with disabilities who were enrolled in Medicare Part D – the prescription drug benefit program – ran the risk of falling into the ‘donut hole’ coverage gap that would send out of pocket expenses for prescription drug benefits skyrocketing. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the ‘donut hole’ has been closed, saving seniors as well as people with disabilities millions on prescription drug benefits. In Michigan alone, 142,120 individuals have saved more than $301 million since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, with an average beneficiary saving more than $1,000 each. It is clear that the historic Affordable Care Act is already having a positive impact in aiding consumers and reshaping our previously broken healthcare system,” said Conyers.

Under the discount program in the Affordable Care Act, in 2010, anyone with a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan who reached the prescription drug ‘donut hole’ got a $250 rebate. In 2011, beneficiaries who landed in the ‘donut hole’ began receiving discounts on covered brand-name drugs and savings on generic drugs. Next year, Medicare Part D participants who fall into the ‘donut hole’ will receive savings of about 53 percent on the cost of brand name drugs and 28 percent on the cost of generic drugs. These savings and Medicare coverage will gradually increase until 2020, when the ‘donut hole’ will be closed.

###

The Annual Open Enrollment period for health and drug plans began on October 15 and ends on December 7. For more information on Medicare Open Enrollment and to compare benefits and prices of 2014 Medicare health and drug plans, please visit:http://www.cms.gov/Center/Special-Topic/Open-Enrollment-Center.html.

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Conyers Rallies Advocates Behind Medicare-for-All, on 48th Anniversary of Medicare

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) participated in a press conference alongside Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.), Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), Congressman Mark Takano (D-Calif.), other Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and participants from organizations including Public Citizen, Physicians for a National Health Program, as well as the Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare. At the press conference, Rep. Conyers delivered the following remarks:

“Today, we join together to recognize Medicare’s 48^th Birthday. The impact of Medicare on the lives of older Americans over the past 48 years has been truly profound. As a result of its passage, millions of Americans have lived longer, more productive, healthier lives.

“I am profoundly lucky and honored to be able to say that I voted for Medicare during my first summer as a Member of Congress, back in 1965. Earlier that year, I joined with Representative Cecil King of California and introduced, as my very first piece of legislation, a bill that would have provided hospital care under Social Security and an increase of benefits. I said at the time, ‘Our senior citizens have far too long been neglected in this, the most prosperous societies on earth.  Many of them, after leading productive lives prior to their twilight years, have been so overburdened with medical costs that they have been denied the rewards that should come with retirement.’

“I’m pleased to say that in the 5 decades since the enactment of Medicare, the program has fulfilled its promise of retirement security for America’s seniors.

“Yet, Medicare is under attack from the same forces who opposed its enactment in 1965. Those advocates of smaller government are continually seeking to cut Medicare’s guaranteed benefits and push seniors into private plans, which value profits over their health. I have no doubt that the upcoming fight over raising our nation’s debt limit will again include these radical proposals with innocuous sounding names like ‘premium support’ and ‘means testing.’

“We gather here today to offer an alternative vision – one in which Medicare’s benefits are protected by expanding health care security and insurance coverage to more Americans, not fewer. Since 2003, I have introduced H.R. 676, the ‘Expanded and Improved Medicare For All Act,’ which would create a national publicly-funded, privately-delivered single-payer health care system.

“A new study from Dr. Gerald Friedman of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst confirms what I have always believed: we can take the profit out of our health care system, expand coverage, and control our long-term health care costs. According to Dr. Friedman’s study, enacting H.R. 676 would save $476 billion by slashing the administrative waste associated with the private health care system. An additional $116 billion would be saved by using the purchasing power of the federal government to reduce pharmaceutical prices to the levels that exist in other industrialized nations with national health insurance systems. These savings would more than pay for the $343 billion in investments needed to expand coverage, improve benefits, and eliminate out-of-pocket costs and deductibles for every American. Lastly, by slowing the growth of health care costs, H.R. 676 would save $5 trillion over the next decade – thereby ensuring that the guarantee of affordable public health insurance will be there to be enjoyed by future generations.

“Access to quality, affordable healthcare is more than just a moral imperative, it is a basic human right. Until our coverage is truly universal, I will continue to fight for single-payer healthcare that will deliver quality healthcare to all Americans.”

Rep. Conyers alongside Rep. Ellison, Rep. Takano, Public Citizen President Rob Weissman, members of Physicians for a National Health Program, and the Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare advocating for H.R. 676, the “Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act.”

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Majority of House Democrats Call on President Obama to Reject Benefit Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security Benefits

(WASHINGTON) - 107 House Democrats, a majority of Democrats in the House of Representatives, wrote President Obama today, urging him to reject any proposals to cut benefits millions of American families depend upon through Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. The letter was led by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL),Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), and Rep Donna Edwards (D-MD).

The Members specifically singled out “Chained CPI”—a proposal to reduce Social Security benefits by changing the way inflation is calculated—and raising the Medicare retirement age as policies they oppose.

“A commitment to keeping the middle-class strong and reducing poverty requires a commitment to keeping Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid strong,” the Members said in the letter. “We urge you to reject any proposals to cut benefits, and we look forward to working with you to enact approaches that instead rely on economic growth and more fair revenue-raising policies to solve our fiscal problems.”

You can read the full text of the letter below.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

February 15, 2013

Dear President Obama:

We want to thank you for standing strong in the American Taxpayer Relief Act to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid from benefit cuts that would jeopardize the well-being of millions of Americans.

We write to affirm our vigorous opposition to cutting Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits in any final bill to replace sequestration.  Earned Social Security and Medicare benefits provide the financial and health protections necessary to keep individuals and families out of poverty.  Medicaid is not only a lifeline for low-income children, pregnant women, people with disabilities and families, it is the primary source of long-term care services and supports for 3.6 million individuals.  We cannot overstate their importance for our constituents and our country.

That is why we remain deeply opposed to proposals to reduce Social Security benefits through use of the chained CPI to calculate cost-of-living adjustments.  We remain committed to making the changes that will extend solvency for 75 years, but Social Security has not contributed to our current fiscal problems and it should not be on the bargaining table. 

Similarly, we oppose proposals to increase Medicare cost-sharing requirements or to raise the age of eligibility.  Half of all Medicare recipients live on less than $22,000 a year – yet they spend, on average, three times as much of those limited incomes on health care as other Americans.  Raising their already heavy cost-sharing burden or increasing the age of eligibility doesn’t lower health care costs, it just shifts them to those who can least afford more financial burdens – seniors, people with disabilities and their families. 

A commitment to keeping the middle-class strong and reducing poverty requires a commitment to keeping Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid strong.  We urge you to reject any proposals to cut benefits, and we look forward to working with you to enact approaches that instead rely on economic growth and more fair revenue-raising policies to solve our fiscal problems.

Sincerely,

Schakowsky, Jan

Ellison, Keith

Grijalva, Raúl M.

Conyers, John

Edwards, Donna

Barber, Ron

Bass, Karen

Bera, Ami

Bonamici, Suzanne

Brady, Robert

Braley, Bruce L.

Brown, Corrine

Brownley, Julia

Bustos, Cheri

Butterfield, G.K.

Capps, Lois

Cardenas, Tony

Cartwright, Matthew

Castor, Kathy

Christensen, Donna M.,

Chu, Judy

Cicilline, David

Clarke, Yvette D.

Clay Jr., William "Lacy"

Cleaver, Emanuel

Cohen, Steve

Conyers Jr., John

Courtney, Joe

Cummings, Elijah

Davis, Danny K.

DeFazio, Peter

DeLauro, Rosa L.

Deutch, Ted

Duckworth, Tammy

Edwards, Donna F.

Ellison, Keith

Eshoo, Anna G.

Faleomavaega, Eni F. H.

Farr, Sam

Fattah, Chaka

Frankel, Lois

Fudge, Marcia L.

Garamendi, John

Grayson, Alan

Green, Al

Green, Gene

Grijalva, Raul

Gutierrez, Luis

Hahn, Janice

Hastings, Alcee L.

Hinojosa, Rubén

Holt, Rush

Honda, Mike

Huffman, Jared

Jackson Lee, Sheila

Jeffries, Hakeem

Johnson, Eddie Bernice

Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" Jr.

Kaptur, Marcy

Kildee, Daniel

Kirkpatrick, Ann

Langevin, Jim

Lee, Barbara

Lewis, John

Loebsack, David

Lofgren, Zoe

Lowenthal, Alan

Lujan Grisham, Michelle

Lynch, Stephen F.

Maloney, Carolyn

Markey, Ed

Matsui, Doris O.

McDermott, Jim

McGovern, James

Meng, Grace

Michaud, Michael

Moore, Gwen

Nadler, Jerrold

Negrete McLeod, Gloria

Nolan, Rick

Norton, Eleanor Holmes

Pastor, Ed

Payne Jr., Donald

Pingree, Chellie

Pocan, Mark

Rangel, Charles B.

Roybal-Allard, Lucille

Rush, Bobby L.

Ryan, Tim

Sablan, Gregorio

Sanchez, Linda

Scott, Robert C.

Serrano, José E.

Shea-Porter, Carol

Sinema, Kyrsten

Sires, Albio

Slaughter, Louise

Speier, Jackie

Takano, Mark

Thompson, Bennie G.

Tierney, John

Titus, Dina

Tonko, Paul D.

Vargas, Juan

Veasey, Marc

Velázquez, Nydia M.

Waters, Maxine

Watt, Mel

Waxman, Henry

Welch, Peter

Wilson, Frederica

cc:  Speaker John Boehner

House Minority Leader Pelosi

Senate Majority Leader Reid

Senate Minority Leader McConnell

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