Capitol Correspondence - 05.04.19

Single-Payer Discussion Gains Traction with Additional House Hearings

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We are sharing this article from Politico Pro as an update to this ANCOR Capitol Correspondence story from last week on a the House Rules Committee holding a hearing on Medicare for All legislation last week. As a courtesy to our members, here are notes from the hearing as prepared by our lobbyists at McDermott+ Consulting. A date has not yet been set for the House Ways and Means Committee hearing announced below.

As written in Politico Pro:

“The House Ways and Means Committee has agreed to hold a hearing on single-payer health care, an aide told POLITICO today — but it won’t specifically focus on the “Medicare for All” legislation from progressive lawmakers.

Supporters of the Medicare for All bill have pushed for the tax-writing panel, as well as the Energy and Commerce Committee, to hold hearings on the legislation, since it would likely need the approval of both committees before it could move to the floor.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the bill’s author, told POLITICO that Ways and Means chairman Richard Neal promised her today — the same day the Rules Committee held the first-ever hearing on Medicare for All — to hold a hearing on single-payer in his committee. Neal’s office confirmed the conversation but said the hearing, which hasn’t been scheduled yet, will broadly focus on topic of single-payer health care.

[…]

House Budget Chairman John Yarmuth also said today his committee will hold a previously announced hearing on single-payer during the third week of May. However, it will focus solely on an upcoming Congressional Budget Office [CBO] analysis of single-payer’s costs that is expected Wednesday.” [ANCOR notes: here is the link to the CBO report, and here is a link discussing the proposed hearing.]