H.R. 1004·High School Intermediate
A Bill to Create a Medicare Public Option
Rep. Riley (D-MI)
Establishes Medicare-X, a public health insurance option available on ACA exchanges.
Sec. 1 — Mandate
HHS shall offer a Medicare-administered public option plan on all ACA exchanges.
Sec. 2 — Pricing
Provider reimbursement set at Medicare rates plus 20%.
Sec. 3 — Funding
$190 billion over 10 years, partially offset by premium revenue.
Sec. 4 — Enforcement
CMS oversight.
Tournament Prep
Mechanical parts, sourced & timed
Use this as your pre-round checklist. Memorize the source citation. Time yourself to the delivery target.
- Bill / Number
- H.R. 1004 — A Bill to Create a Medicare Public Option
- Funding source
- $190B over 10 years; partially offset by premium revenue.
- Timeline
- Plan available at next ACA open enrollment after implementation regs.
- Realistic — CMS routinely launches new plan structures.
- Enforcing agency
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- Yes — CMS administers Medicare and ACA exchanges.
- Penalty for non-compliance
- N/A — voluntary plan offering.
- Source citation
- Kaiser Family Foundation (2023), 'Public Option Health Insurance' — kff.org.
- Delivery time (read aloud)
- 1:10 (70s)
Strongest counter-argument
A public option will crowd out private insurers and end private coverage.
Your pre-emptive answer
KFF (2023) modeled CBO scoring — Medicare-X captures 12-18% of the ACA market over 10 years, leaving private insurers dominant. Washington State's public option (2021) coexists with 8 private insurers; the death-spiral prediction hasn't materialized in any state pilot.