# 119-s-1506: Medicare for All Act 119-s-1506, Medicare for All Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-27). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1506 - As of: 2026-09-27 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-1506 - Congress: 119 - Title: Medicare for All Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2025-04-29 - Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT) - Cosponsors: 18 - Policy area: Health - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-09-27 ## Summary **Creates a national, no-cost-at-point-of-service health insurance program** that would cover all U.S. residents and automatically enroll people at birth or when they establish residency. It would guarantee a broad benefits package including hospital care, prescription drugs, mental health and substance use treatment, dental and vision, home- and community-based long-term care, gender-affirming care, and reproductive services while generally prohibiting patient cost-sharing except limited prescription drug copays. - Families, children, and low-income households would get automatic enrollment and a comprehensive benefits package with no patient cost-sharing for covered services. Prescription drug cost-sharing could be up to $200 per person per year and is waived for households at or below 250% of the federal poverty level. - Providers and hospitals would face a new dual payment system that shifts many institutional providers to quarterly global budget payments while keeping a fee-for-service path for others. Global budgets are negotiated annually and can be adjusted for emergencies or major cost shifts. - States and Medicaid beneficiaries would see Medicaid rules adjusted so states must preserve institutional long-term care and meet a state-specific expenditure floor based on 2024 spending. States may add benefits at their own expense but may not tighten eligibility below January 1, 2025. ## Cosponsors (18) - Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] (D-WI), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-12-02T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-11-18T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Automatic enrollment and phased start: benefit, high. If enacted, newborns and new residents would be automatically enrolled and issued a Medicare for All ID card (without a Social Security number). Children under 19 would get benefits earlier; most adults would get benefits starting January 1 of the fourth year after enactment. The Secretary must pro… - Much broader coverage and lower patient costs: benefit, high. If enacted, people enrolled would get a wide set of covered services, including hospital care, drugs, mental health, pregnancy care, dental, vision, hearing, and long-term supports. Most cost sharing would be banned and Part A and Part B deductibles set to $0. An annual out-of-pocket limit of $1,50… - Special tax credits for Transition plan: benefit, high. If enacted, coverage under the Medicare Transition Plan would count as a qualified plan for premium tax credits. The bill inserts a special applicable-percentage table to compute premium help for Transition enrollees, which can lower premiums for eligible households during the transition. - New oversight, reporting, and equity offices: benefit, high. If enacted, the Secretary would set uniform reporting rules, build a national database on costs, quality, and equity, and report to Congress annually. The bill would create Regional Medicare for All Offices to assess local needs and an Office of Health Equity to collect detailed demographic data an… - Patient protections, privacy, and benefits safety: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would ban discrimination in Program benefits and create an administrative complaint process and private right of action. It would protect workers who report violations, create a Beneficiary Ombudsman to help with appeals, raise SSI resource limits starting January 1, 2025, and… - State rules for long-term care protections: benefit, medium. If enacted, States would have to continue providing institutional long-term care services once Medicare for All benefits begin and could not adopt stricter income, resource, or eligibility standards than on January 1, 2025. The Secretary would set state-specific spending floors and States may add s… - End old plans and ban duplicate coverage: mixed, high. If enacted, when Medicare for All benefits start the bill would end Federal and State ACA Exchanges, repeal COBRA continuation coverage, and stop Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP payments for services furnished after the start date (with limited transition exceptions). It would also bar private insuran… - Create Medicare for All Program: mixed, high. If enacted, the federal government would create a Medicare for All Program run by the Secretary. The Secretary would write rules for who is eligible, what is covered, and how providers are paid. The bill would require an annual National Health Budget and create a Medicare for All Trust Fund with an… - New provider payment and rules: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would shift hospital and institutional payments to annual negotiated global budgets paid quarterly and set a national fee schedule for non-institutional providers. Providers would face national participation rules, reporting deadlines, and restrictions on how Program payments a… - Transition plan and temporary buy-ins: mixed, medium. If enacted, a Medicare Transition public plan would be offered on the Exchanges until Medicare for All starts. The plan must cover required benefits and be about 90% actuarial value. The bill would also allow staged buy-ins for adults age 55, 45, then 35 in successive years, with monthly premiums s… ## Related bills - 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026 - 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act - 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act - 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026 - 119-s-1503: Equality Act - 119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025 ## Sources - [119-s-1506 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1506) ## Related - [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066) - [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823) - [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51) - [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108) - [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503) - [119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-852) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1506 (as of 2026-09-27).