I’ve also led on legislation to create a Medicaid-based public health insurance option by allowing states to create a Medicaid buy-in program for all their residents.
Create a Medicaid-based public health insurance option by allowing states to establish Medicaid buy-in programs for all residents.
Occurrences
Evidence
Federal Medicaid eligibility remains organized around mandatory groups, optional groups, ACA low-income expansion, financial eligibility, and non-financial criteria; the page does not describe an all-resident Medicaid buy-in option.
The release says the State Public Option Act was led by Senator Brian Schatz and Representative Ben Ray Lujan and would let states create a Medicaid buy-in program for all residents regardless of income.
The bill text states it would establish a state public option through Medicaid and add eligibility for state residents not concurrently enrolled in another health insurance plan.
The article reported that Schatz was introducing legislation to let states set up a public option by expanding Medicaid to Americans who wanted to buy in.
The article describes Schatz's plan as allowing every American to buy into Medicaid if their state allows it, framing it as a public option for ACA marketplaces.
Assessments
Schatz materially advanced the promised policy by leading and sponsoring State Public Option Act proposals that would have let states create Medicaid buy-in programs for all residents. However, the evidence shows these measures remained proposals and did not become federal law; Medicaid eligibility still does not include a general all-resident state Medicaid buy-in option. Because the promised outcome was not delivered despite serious legislative effort, this is a failed promise with effort credit.