Health Care

House Democrats are committed to expanding access to quality, affordable health care coverage, strengthening protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and lowering prescription drug prices and the cost of health care overall.

House Democrats are committed to expanding access to quality, affordable health care coverage, strengthening protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and lowering prescription drug prices and the cost of health care overall.
 
Under President Biden and Congressional Democrats, the uninsured rate is at an all-time low. While Republicans vote against legislation to lower health care costs, House Democrats are working to bring down the overall costs of health care and increase access to health care coverage.
 
With the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, House Democrats took direct action to reduce health care costs for millions of Americans. For the first time, Medicare will be able to negotiate prescription drug prices for high-cost drugs. The law also caps out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients at $2,000 annually and establishes a $35 cap for a month’s supply of insulin. The Inflation Reduction Act also protects progress made under President Biden to expand access to quality, affordable health care coverage by continuing the expanded premium tax credits originally passed in the American Rescue Plan, which lowered health care premiums for millions of working families.
 
This built upon the Affordable Care Act – enacted by President Obama and Congressional Democrats in 2010 – that has put American families in control of their own health care and ended a system that put profits ahead of patients. Since its enactment, 35 million Americans have gained access to quality, affordable health coverage. Americans with pre-existing conditions can no longer be discriminated against by insurance companies. Parents can now keep their children on their insurance plans up to age twenty-six. Insurance companies are no longer allowed to put annual or lifetime limits on coverage or drop people when they get sick. Additionally, thanks to the law, Medicare costs – from premiums and deductibles to overall program spending – have slowed to well below the levels projected before the law passed.
 
These reforms were crucial, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic struck but more action was needed.  That’s why House Democrats worked to enact legislation right away - without any Republican support - to ensure that testing, treatment, and vaccinations for COVID-19 would be covered with no out-of-pocket costs to Americans.

House Democrats remain committed to the goal of affordable, accessible health care for all.  

Related
Alarm Sounded On Social Security
The financial health of the Social Security system has eroded more sharply in the past year than at any time since the mid-1990s, according to a government forecast that ratchets up pressure on the Obama administration and Congress to stabilize the retirement system that keeps many older Americans out of poverty.
Editorial: The President's Budget
"WE CAN no longer afford to leave the hard choices for the next budget, the next administration or the next generation," declared President Barack Obama last week as he unveiled his budget.
Democratic Leaders on the Release of the Medicare and Social Security Trustees Report
Today, the Medicare and Social Security Trustees issued their annual report, which included updated projections for the solvency of Social Security and Medicare trust funds.
Hoyer Statement on Medicare and Social Security Trustees Report
Today’s report shows that the challenges confronting Medicare and Social Security are continuing to grow.
The Verdict Is In: Health Care Costs Are Unsustainable
America faces many serious challenges, but the rising cost of health care represents one of the greatest threats to our economic growth and long-term fiscal stability.
Hoyer Statement on Pledge by Health Care Stakeholders to Reduce Costs
Containing rising health care costs that are an increasing burden on families, businesses and the federal budget is one of the critical goals of enacting health care reform this year.
Hoyer Speaks on Health Care Reform at NCPA's Annual Conference
Patient-centered care’: as I’m sure you know, that is one of the biggest buzz-phrases in our healthcare debate.
Will Republicans Work with Democrats for Health Care Reform?
This week, Republican pollster Frank Luntz met with Members of the House Republican Conference to present a messaging strategy to oppose health care reform.
Lawmakers Seeking Consensus On Social Security Overhaul
Key lawmakers from both parties have held tentative talks about overhauling the Social Security system, and Congress could turn its attention to the federal retirement program as soon as this fall if a bipartisan consensus emerges, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said yesterday.
Hoyer Delivers Keynote Address on Entitlement and Health Care Reform
If I were to guess the single most lasting lesson of our economic crisis, and if I were to spell it out in just five words, I would say: this is what debt does.