Health Care

Since her service on the Board of Supervisors in San Mateo County to her current position as Chairwoman of the powerful House Health Subcommittee, Rep. Eshoo has been a leader on a broad range of health care issues, from shaping the Affordable Care Act to supporting biomedical research for new treatments and cures.

Strengthening Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act

Rep. Eshoo has fought hard to protect and strengthen the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid. She was instrumental in passing the Affordable Care Act, the landmark law that has helped millions of Americans thanks to its life-saving protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and tax credits to help Americans afford health coverage. Under her leadership, her Health Subcommittee also passed the No Surprises Act into law, ending surprise medical bills due to disputes between health care providers and health insurers.

Medicare and Medicaid pay for the health care of more than 1 out every 3 Americans. Rep. Eshoo has seen first-hand the peace of mind Medicare provided for her mother and father when they had that card in their wallet. As Chairwoman of the Health Subcommittee, she’s held hearings on and passed legislation through the House of Representatives that adds vision, hearing, and dental coverage to the Medicare program. Rep. Eshoo has also been a leader in ensuring that Medicare continues to cover telehealth. Through the Affordable Care Act, Rep. Eshoo helped to expand Medicaid coverage to millions of low-income families.

If you are uninsured or need help with your health insurance coverage, you can visit the following resources to learn more.

• Covered California: Covered California is a free service from the state that connects Californians with financial help to buy health insurance from well-known companies. You can also use this service to enroll in free Medicaid coverage if you are eligible.
• Medicare.gov: On Medicare.gov, you can create a secure Medicare account to help you address specific billing questions or questions about your claims. You can also receive help with your Medicare options and other issues.

Lowering Drug Prices

As Chairwoman of the Health Subcommittee, Rep. Eshoo led the drafting of the policies to lower prescription drug prices that became law as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. President Biden signed the legislation into law on August 16, 2022. It will help millions of American seniors afford prescription drugs, saving lives and preventing bankruptcies.

Here is a list of new benefits for Medicare enrollees:

• Allows Medicare to negotiate the price of drugs without market competition. The new lower prices will begin to take effect in 2026.
   
• Beginning in 2024, out-of-pocket spending on drugs will be capped at $2,000 per year for Medicare beneficiaries. Before the new law, some seniors were paying more than $5,000 a year for a single prescription drug. The bill also includes a provision Rep. Eshoo championed to help spread the out-of-pocket costs over 12 monthly payments instead of having to pay upfront all at once at the pharmacy counter.
   
• Beginning in 2023, the cost of insulin is capped at $35 a month for people on Medicare.
   
• Beginning in 2023, all CDC-recommended vaccines will be free to Medicare beneficiaries.
   
• Beginning later this year, pharmaceutical companies will have to pay the Treasury if they raise their Medicare prices higher than inflation.

Biomedical Research

The 18th Congressional District includes Stanford University and Silicon Valley and is a world leader for biomedical research. In Congress, Rep. Eshoo is a leading advocate for funding research at the National Institutes of Health for new treatments and cures for deadly diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and pancreatic and pediatric cancers. She’s also led legislation to strengthen the Food and Drug Administration so that it can move at the speed of science to bring safe and effective drug and medical devices to more patients.

Rep. Eshoo has sponsored legislation to create the Advanced Research Project Agency for Health (ARPA-H). This new agency would embody the nimble spirit of the highly regarded and successful Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) to pursue large-scale, high-risk projects. It will break the mold for federal research agencies by being uniquely focused on solving the “valley of death” to deliver transformational cures for deadly diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, ALS, and diabetes.

Women’s Health

As the first woman in the history of Congress to chair the House Health Subcommittee, Rep. Eshoo is dedicated to ensuring that women can receive the health care they choose and deserve. She held the first hearing on protecting access to abortion in over 20 years when her Health Subcommittee considered the Women’s Health Protection Act, legislation that codifies the Roe v. Wade decision, and supported the repeal of the domestic and global gag rule.

Rep. Eshoo’s Health Subcommittee has also been responsible for landmark legislation to address the nation’s shameful maternal mortality rate. The U.S. is the most dangerous place in the developed world to deliver a baby, and it’s even more dangerous if you’re a woman of color. This is unacceptable, and what’s more, it’s preventable.

Under Rep. Eshoo’s leadership, two significant pieces of legislation to address the maternal health crisis have become law. First, the American Rescue Plan provides a new state option to extend Medicaid coverage for pregnant women from 60 days postpartum to one full year following the baby’s birth. California has already taken advantage of the new authority and today, many California mothers are eligible for free Medi-Cal coverage for one year postpartum. Second, the Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act provides grants for perinatal quality collaboratives, including Stanford’s California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, which has reduced severe health problems from pregnancy-related hemorrhages by 21% and has contributed to reducing the maternal mortality rate in California by 55%.