The HEALTH Act was first envisioned by late AMAC founder Dan Weber to increase access to quality healthcare for Medicaid and CHIP recipients. Dan applied the business acumen he acquired as a result of operating a small business for 30 years and crafted a free-market solution that promotes healthy lifestyles while saving the government billions of dollars.
June 1, 2022
The Honorable Daniel Webster
11th Congressional District, Florida
2184 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Webster,
On behalf of the 2.3 million members of AMAC, the Association of Mature American Citizens, I write in
support of H.R. 7831, the Helping Everyone Access Long Term Healthcare (HEALTH) Act. This important
legislation offers lower-income individuals and families better access to primary care treatment while
simultaneously reducing Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program(CHIP) costs.
Currently, Medicaid patients have a harder time accessing healthcare compared to patients with private
insurers. The Commonwealth Fund/Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2015 National Survey of Primary Care
Providers found that only 45 percent of primary care physicians were willing to accept new Medicaid
patients while 94 percent were willing to accept new privately insured patients. The physician’s
reasonings were attributed to Medicaid’s low reimbursement levels, and high administrative burden
compared with other insurance. The lack of primary care options for Medicaid patients pushes patients
into Urgent Care and Emergency Rooms for non-emergency-related issues, increasing the cost of
Medicaid spending, and preventing a healthy doctor-patient relationship.
The HEALTH Act offers a solution to encourage primary care offices to accept more Medicaid patients by
allowing doctors and other healthcare professionals to provide pro-bono healthcare services to low income individuals, including children in the CHIP program, in exchange for a simple tax deduction. An
option that is legal to doctors through a 501(c)3 organization overseas, but not domestically to our
country’s most vulnerable. In sum, this legislation creates an opportunity for doctors to help respond to
a critical need for healthcare services in their communities by offering the incentive of a simple tax
deduction rather than the burdensome reimbursement paperwork for Medicaid and CHIP programs
compared to private insurers.
If enacted, the HEALTH Act would help millions of Medicaid and CHIP eligible individuals and families
receive quality healthcare from physicians of their choice as opposed to institutionalized services while
saving the government billions of dollars. Thank you, Congressman Webster, for introducing legislation
that helps limit government spending and creates a healthier America.
Sincerely,
Bob Carlstrom
President
AMAC Action
