HR 5010 – Let States Expand Healthcare Coverage

Reps. Pramila Jayapal + Adam Smith are cosponsors of this bill. There is no partner bill in the Senate – where Mitch McConnell imprisons any bill like this and won’t even bring it to the vote.

This bill establishes the option for states, or groups of states, to apply to waive certain federal health insurance requirements and provide residents with health insurance benefits plans through a state-administered program. Such programs must cover 95% of the residents in the state within five years and plan benefits must be at least as comprehensive and affordable as the coverage under the equivalent federal program.

State programs are supported with funds from the federal programs the state programs replace, which may include Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Federal Employee Health Benefits program, certain federal tax credits, and premium-assistance funds, among others.

The bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to appoint an Independent Assessment Panel for Comprehensive Care to review and recommend whether to approve state applications. Each approved state program must be independently reviewed every five years to evaluate changes in health benefits access, quality, and coverage, including whether the state has met the 95% coverage requirement.

The federal government must pay all health insurance costs for American Indians and Alaska Natives who enroll in a plan through a state insurance program.

Did you know Canada passed their universal healthcare system province by province starting with Saskatchewan, and there is a state group here in Washington that is geared up to make Washington the Saskatchewan of the United States? The group is Whole Washington. Whole Washington will have a bill in the legislature and are recruiting volunteers for an ballot measure in case that bill doesn’t pass. While their bill doesn’t rely on federal permission to be implemented, getting waivers from the federal government would help Washington state residents save the most amount of money with the new system by eliminating a whole lot of administrative waste created by our current complicated system. This is where HR 5010 comes in. Rep Ro Khana’s bill will streamline this waiver process – a process supported by Biden’s Secretary appointee to Health and Human Services.

Georgia Davenport, Field Director for Whole Washington and One Payer States, along with Dr. Joe Jarvis, author of “The Purple World” and former public health officer, will discuss how you can support this bill which will ensure all Washingtonians, and eventually all of the United States, will have the healthcare coverage they need.