WASHINGTON, DC - Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) and Subcommittee on Health Republican Leader Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) sent a letter to Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Subcommittee on Health Chairwoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) requesting a hearing to review the Democratic Medicare for All proposal, which would eliminate private insurance in America and move to a government run, single-payer health system.
A majority of House Democrats supported Medicare for All in the last Congress - in fact, two-thirds of Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats, 20 members, 11 of whom serve on the Health subcommittee, cosponsored the plan.
“We request that the Committee on Energy and Commerce hold a hearing on the Democratic Medicare for All proposal. Medicare for All was a critical issue in the last election among Democrats running for the House of Representatives, and there are important questions about the proposal that the Committee should investigate," Walden and Burgess wrote.
Speaker Pelosi has indicated her support for Medicare for All and tasked the Budget Committee and Rules Committee to hold hearings on the proposal.
The letter continues, “The American people should hear how House Democrats expect to address the massive costs associated with Medicare for All. Given the Committee’s broad health care jurisdiction, we have a responsibility to review any legislative proposal that is supported by so many members of the House majority, especially one that threatens to impact directly the lives of millions of Americans by upending how they receive their coverage, including those with employer and union sponsored plans."
