Bill > S4231

This bill, called the "Choose Medicare Act", proposes to establish a new public health plan called "Medicare Part E" that would be available in the individual, small group, and large group health insurance markets. The key provisions of the bill include: - Creating Medicare Part E plans that would provide coverage of essential health benefits and all items and services covered under traditional Medicare, with gold-level coverage and including coverage for abortions and other reproductive services. - Making these plans available through the ACA health insurance exchanges and allowing any U.S. resident who is not already eligible for other major federal health programs to enroll. - Requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate provider reimbursement rates for the Medicare Part E plans that are not lower than Medicare rates and not higher than the average rates paid by other insurers. - Providing start-up funding and initial reserves to establish the new Medicare Part E plans. - Requiring employers that do not offer affordable, minimum value health plans to refer their employees to a navigator to assist with obtaining coverage. - Enhancing the premium assistance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act by using the second lowest-cost gold plan as the benchmark, and making the credits permanently available above 400% of the federal poverty level. - Increasing the cost-sharing reduction subsidies for eligible low-income individuals enrolled in gold-level plans. - Establishing a reinsurance and affordability fund to help stabilize the individual health insurance market. - Expanding the ACA's rating rules to apply to the large group health insurance market. - Strengthening protections against excessive, unjustified, or unfairly discriminatory health insurance rates.