DeLauro bill would open Medicare to all while letting people keep employer coverage

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, has introduced the Medicare for America Act. It would open an expanded Medicare program to every U.S. resident while letting people keep qualifying job-based insurance ¹². The bill was introduced Oct. 29 as H.R. 10924 ¹.

The bill would not replace private insurance. People without coverage would be enrolled automatically. A worker with employer coverage could stay on it or choose Medicare instead, and the employer would still have to contribute to the premium ¹².

What the bill would do

There would be no deductibles. Premiums would be capped at 8 percent of income, and yearly out-of-pocket costs would be capped at $3,500 for a person and $5,000 for a household ¹². People earning under 200 percent of the federal poverty level would pay no premiums or out-of-pocket costs ¹².

Coverage would include dental, vision and hearing care, prescription drugs, mental-health treatment and home- and community-based long-term care ¹². The bill would ban prior authorization, which is when an insurer must approve care in advance. It would also ban step therapy, which makes patients try cheaper drugs first ¹². It would end the 24-month Medicare waiting period for people with disabilities ¹².

From Channel GOPTurek: Trump's bill costs 110,000 Iowans health careJosh Turek · 18 plays · captioned, with the source named

On prices, the health secretary would have to negotiate costs for all covered drugs. The bill would also seek to curb overpayments to Medicare Advantage, the private plans that serve many seniors ¹². Payments for primary care and mental-health services would rise by at least 30 percent ¹².

How it would be paid for

DeLauro would repeal the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut health spending, and add a 5 percent surtax on income above $500,000 ¹². Her office says the bill has other pay-fors but does not specify them ².

The health care backdrop

DeLauro's office cites Census Bureau data showing 26.7 million people were uninsured for all of 2025 ². KFF, a health policy research group, estimated that the end of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies would raise average yearly premium payments for subsidized marketplace enrollees from $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026. That is a 114 percent increase ¹².

Her office also cites Congressional Budget Office projections of 10 million more uninsured people by 2034 under the 2025 Republican law ².

What happens next

The bill was referred to six House committees, including Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce. Congressional tracking shows DeLauro as its only sponsor ¹. Republicans hold 219 House seats and 53 Senate seats, so GOP leaders decide whether it moves. Newsweek says enactment in the remaining weeks of this Congress is unlikely absent a dramatic bipartisan shift ¹.

DeLauro first introduced a version of Medicare for America in 2018 ¹. A separate Medicare for All bill from Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, H.R. 3069, has 118 Democratic cosponsors. It would create a national program and bar duplicate coverage ¹.

That matters because it shows where Democrats may go on health care if they gain power. The bill is a messaging marker more than a law-in-waiting, but it speaks to premiums and coverage that many older voters feel directly.

The Record

1. Oct 29, 2026H.R. 10924, the Medicare for America Act, was introduced and referred to six House committees ¹.
2. Oct 30, 2026DeLauro's office released details of the plan, including the 8 percent premium cap and a 5 percent surtax on income above $500,000 ².
3. Nov 2, 2026Newsweek reported the bill has no cosponsors in a Republican-controlled Congress ¹.

Free to reprint Republish this story on your site or in your newsletter

Any site, blog or newsletter may run this story free of charge. Keep the credit line and its link to the original, do not sell it, and edit only for length or house style (the full terms). Photos carry their own licenses, noted under each photo on this page, so use the text alone unless a credit says otherwise.

<h2>DeLauro bill would open Medicare to all while letting people keep employer coverage</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Kitchen-Table Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/delauro-bill-would-open-medicare-to-all-while-letting-people-keep-employer-coverage">The GOP Files</a> on Monday, November 2, 2026.</em></p> <p>Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, has introduced the Medicare for America Act. It would open an expanded Medicare program to every U.S. resident while letting people keep qualifying job-based insurance . The bill was introduced Oct. 29 as H.R. 10924 .</p> <p>The bill would not replace private insurance. People without coverage would be enrolled automatically. A worker with employer coverage could stay on it or choose Medicare instead, and the employer would still have to contribute to the premium .</p> <h2>What the bill would do</h2> <p>There would be no deductibles. Premiums would be capped at 8 percent of income, and yearly out-of-pocket costs would be capped at $3,500 for a person and $5,000 for a household . People earning under 200 percent of the federal poverty level would pay no premiums or out-of-pocket costs .</p> <p>Coverage would include dental, vision and hearing care, prescription drugs, mental-health treatment and home- and community-based long-term care . The bill would ban prior authorization, which is when an insurer must approve care in advance. It would also ban step therapy, which makes patients try cheaper drugs first . It would end the 24-month Medicare waiting period for people with disabilities .</p> <p>On prices, the health secretary would have to negotiate costs for all covered drugs. The bill would also seek to curb overpayments to Medicare Advantage, the private plans that serve many seniors . Payments for primary care and mental-health services would rise by at least 30 percent .</p> <h2>How it would be paid for</h2> <p>DeLauro would repeal the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut health spending, and add a 5 percent surtax on income above $500,000 . Her office says the bill has other pay-fors but does not specify them .</p> <h2>The health care backdrop</h2> <p>DeLauro&#39;s office cites Census Bureau data showing 26.7 million people were uninsured for all of 2025 . KFF, a health policy research group, estimated that the end of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies would raise average yearly premium payments for subsidized marketplace enrollees from $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026. That is a 114 percent increase .</p> <p>Her office also cites Congressional Budget Office projections of 10 million more uninsured people by 2034 under the 2025 Republican law .</p> <h2>What happens next</h2> <p>The bill was referred to six House committees, including Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce. Congressional tracking shows DeLauro as its only sponsor . Republicans hold 219 House seats and 53 Senate seats, so GOP leaders decide whether it moves. Newsweek says enactment in the remaining weeks of this Congress is unlikely absent a dramatic bipartisan shift .</p> <p>DeLauro first introduced a version of Medicare for America in 2018 . A separate Medicare for All bill from Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, H.R. 3069, has 118 Democratic cosponsors. It would create a national program and bar duplicate coverage .</p> <p>That matters because it shows where Democrats may go on health care if they gain power. The bill is a messaging marker more than a law-in-waiting, but it speaks to premiums and coverage that many older voters feel directly.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/delauro-bill-would-open-medicare-to-all-while-letting-people-keep-employer-coverage">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/delauro-bill-would-open-medicare-to-all-while-letting-people-keep-employer-coverage.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

Copy the HTML Paste it into your editor's HTML view. The one-pixel image at the end tells our newsroom the story ran; it stores no reader data.

Sources

1. Newsweek, “New Medicare Bill Would Let Americans Keep Private Insurance” (2026-11-02). newsweek.com/new-medicare-bill-would-let-americans-keep-priv
2. Office of Rep. Rosa DeLauro, “DeLauro Unveils Medicare For All Plan That Preserves Private Health Insurance” (2026-10-30). delauro.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/delauro-unveil

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.