Raleigh, N.C. – Today, in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) recommended reforms to our dysfunctional health care system to reduce costs and expand access to care for North Carolinians. Specifically, the letter urges consideration of options for covering Medicaid gap populations in holdout states like North Carolina. It also expresses support for lowering the age of Medicare eligibility, making the ACA tax credits included in the American Rescue Plan Act permanent, and establishing a public option for health care coverage.

Together, these policies would improve health outcomes by providing a critical safety net for those facing barriers to high-quality and affordable health care.                                                                                                               

The letter reads, in part, “In the coming months, as our country slowly emerges from one of the most devastating public health emergencies in our history, Congress is widely expected to consider reforms to our health care system...To further expand health care access and promote affordability, I urge you to work to lower the Medicare eligibility age to 60 or lower. This simple change would make Medicare available to a population of Americans who work hard and retire before they turn 65.”

Full text of the letter can be found here.

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