Reps. Gonzalez and Arrington Announce Bipartisan Healthcare Bill

Texas Representatives Vicente Gonzalez (D) and Jodey Arrington (R) announced their new bipartisan legislation that will help more Texans have healthcare access.

“This week, @RepArrington and I introduced the Emergency Care Improvement Act to expand access to emergency healthcare for South Texans.”

“Our community needs more healthcare providers, not less. This bipartisan legislation will fix that.”

According to the statement, the bill will “expand access to emergency medical care for Medicare, Tricare, and Medicaid beneficiaries.”

“This bipartisan piece of legislation ensures Medicare, Tricare and Medicaid beneficiaries may access the high-quality medical treatment provided by free standing emergency centers - expanding access and lowering cost for South Texans and patients across the country,” stated Rep. Gonzalez.

In a similar fashion, Rep. Arrington shared his support for the bill’s effects on healthcare.

“Over the past three years since Medicare began recognizing Freestanding Emergency Centers, millions of seniors in Texas have benefitted from increased access to emergency care,” stated the Texas lawmaker.

Rep. Arrington continued to promote the Emergency Care Improvement Act as he brought attention to the financial burden that “hospital-based ERs” can place on a patient.

“Unfortunately, the care these facilities provide — often at a lower cost to the Medicare program than most hospital-based ERs — will disappear for thousands of seniors if something isn't done prior to the Public Health Emergency ending on May 11.”

The elderly will be one of the groups who will benefit from the new legislation, according to the statement.

“The Emergency Care Improvement Act will allow seniors to continue utilizing low-cost, high-quality FECs, spurring much-needed competition in our healthcare system," said Rep. Arrington.

Gonzalez recently was part of a group of Texas lawmakers pushing for more eco-friendly projects.

“We are deeply committed to the Biden administration’s goal of achieving a 50-52% reduction of greenhouse gas pollution from 2005 levels by 2030,” read the collaborative statement.