Expressing support for States to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act to close the Medicaid coverage gap.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 122 Expressing support for States to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act to close the Medicaid coverage gap. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 10, 2023 Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. COHEN, Mr. JOHNSON of Geor- gia, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Ms. ROSS) submitted the following resolu- tion; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Expressing support for States to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act to close the Medicaid coverage gap. Whereas more than 2,200,000 low-income, uninsured adults fall into the Medicaid coverage gap because State govern- ments have been unable to reach a consensus on expan- sion; Whereas closing the Medicaid coverage gap will reduce the national uninsured rate by nearly 10 percent; Whereas closing the Medicaid coverage gap will generate up- ward of $5,000,000,000 in revenue for State and local governments and nearly $130,000,000,000 for the Fed- eral Government to reinvest in our communities; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR122.IH HR122 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 122 IH Whereas closing the Medicaid coverage gap will prevent hos- pital closures, particularly in rural areas that have seen more than 150 hospital closures in the last decade; Whereas hospitals were 6 times less likely to close in States that expanded Medicaid between 2008 and 2016; Whereas financial margins for hospitals improved by 33 per- cent because uncompensated care spending dropped fol- lowing Medicaid expansion in the first 36 States to adopt it; Whereas 39 States governed by both Democratic and Repub- lican elected officials have already adopted Medicaid ex- pansion; Whereas it is unreasonable to expect an individual earning less than $13,000 per year to afford health insurance, re- gardless of employment status; Whereas 1 American who falls into the Medicaid coverage gap dies per day without access to lifesaving health care; Whereas communities of color have been disproportionately disadvantaged by the failure to expand Medicaid and close the coverage gap; and Whereas Congress has a responsibility to provide accessible, high-quality health care to all Americans regardless of so- cioeconomic status: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) urges the remaining 11 States that have yet 2 to expand Medicaid and close the Medicaid coverage 3 gap to do so; 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR122.IH HR122 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 122 IH (2) expresses support for H.R. 31, the COVER 1 Now Act, as a temporary measure to close the Med- 2 icaid coverage gap; 3 (3) recognizes the economic and health care 4 benefits of expanding Medicaid for hospitals, health 5 care workers, the low-income, nonelderly, uninsured 6 population in the coverage gap, and the labor mar- 7 ket; and 8 (4) will support the cause of expanding Med- 9 icaid to uninsured Americans in the coverage gap 10 unless and until the 11 nonexpansion States move 11 forward with expansion. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR122.IH HR122 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB