by AMAC Action

Washington DC, May 5 — On April 27, Congressman Daniel Webster (R-FL-11) introduced the Helping Everyone Access Long Term Healthcare (HEALTH) Act (H.R. 2986). This bill offers a new solution to provide healthcare services to low-income families and has the potential to help Medicaid and CHIP programs save on costs. Medicaid-insured patients often struggle to find primary care doctors able to accept them as new patients. In many cases, this leaves emergency care as the only option for patients to receive care for non-acute reasons such as strep throat. The HEALTH Act would allow doctors and other healthcare professionals to provide pro-bono healthcare services to low-income individuals, including children in the CHIP program, and receive a simple charitable tax deduction instead of billing these programs. Participating physicians and medical personnel would receive a tax deduction for the value of the service performed, which would significantly reduce the amount of burdensome paperwork for smaller practices. This bill would create more time in physicians’ busy schedules to see new Medicaid patients, allowing patients to receive proper preventative care from non-emergency healthcare facilities.

Bob Carlstrom, President of AMAC Action, applauded the bill’s introduction, “The healthcare system is struggling right now. Nobody wants to admit it, but Medicaid in particular is not a perfect system. It is confusing and complex, oftentimes not working in the patient’s favor as well as it could. Both doctors and patients need more options when it comes to long-term care, and this bill provides exactly that. I believe this bill is a solution that utilizes the natural talents and generosity of doctors across the country. AMAC encourages legislators to co-sponsor this important legislation.”

Despite the Affordable Care Act’s efforts, a significant number of citizens are without a primary care physician. At the same time, the ballooning costs of Medicaid are exacerbating state and federal budgets. Over 7 million potential patients will be able to benefit from the HEALTH Act. The concept for the HEALTH Act was originally conceived by AMAC founder Dan Weber. AMAC Action is committed to promoting the HEALTH Act, which will help in-need patients seek better options for care while honoring Dan Weber’s legacy.

If enacted, Congressman Webster’s proposal would help millions of individuals receive long-term quality healthcare while saving the government billions of dollars.

Send an email to your Representative and urge them to cosponsor the HEALTH Act!

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