WASHINGTON DC (May 23, 2019) — Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA), the respective chair and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), introduced bipartisan legislation Thursday aimed at reducing health-care costs. The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:
"At a time when many in Washington are trying to buck hard choices, Sens Alexander and Murray deserve praise for taking seriously the need to control rapidly rising health-care costs and putting forth sensible policies to begin this process.
"The proposals they put forward would reduce health-care costs for families, businesses, and the federal government.
"It is especially encouraging that these proposals have bipartisan support — a necessary ingredient for enacting policy-improvements in the current political environment.
"While today’s proposal is only a starting point for discussion, a bipartisan draft is a hugely important step. Members of the Committee should take the proposal seriously and build on it rather than taking it apart."
