Study: Medicare for America proposal would reduce private coverage

The Medicare for America Act could force one-third of American workers off employer-sponsored health insurance, according to a study by KNG Health Consulting prepared for the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future. The study estimates that, under the legislation, nearly one in four workers previously offered employer-sponsored insurance would lose access to it by 2023 and one in three by 2032. Workers at small firms would be disproportionately affected, with more than half losing access to coverage through their employer by 2032, the study estimates. Introduced in May by Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., the legislation would automatically enroll uninsured Americans and those with coverage through the individual market, Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program in a new national health insurance program. Large employers could choose to offer comparable coverage, or enroll their employees in the new program and contribute 8% of annual payroll to the Medicare Trust Fund. AHA is a member of the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, which seeks to build and improve upon what’s working in health care and fix what’s not.