What is it?
The United States National Health Insurance Act (Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, HR 676) was first submitted to the United States House of Representatives by Representative John Conyers Jr., D-MI, in 2003 with 25 cosponsors. It has been reintroduced each session, and as of July 10, 2008, the bill has 91 cosponsors.
HR 676 calls for the creation of a universal single-payer health care system, where the government would provide every resident health care free of charge. Furthermore, the Act would prohibit private insurers from covering any treatment or procedure already covered by the Act, eliminating disparate treatment between richer and poorer Americans.
The bill, currently in the House Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Health, prohibits institutions from participating as health providers unless they are a public or nonprofit institution, and provides for conversions of investor-owned providers with compensation for real property and equipment. It also allows health maintenance organizations to participate in the program under specified conditions, and would permit patients the freedom to choose participating physicians, hospitals, and inpatient care facilities.