In a sharply divided Congress , Republicans and Democrats have an opportunity to cross party lines and address a tragic problem that has persisted for decades: Millions of people still cannot access a primary care physician.

Nationwide, roughly 92 million depend on Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, both of which lack sufficient access to primary care. Because many of these people cannot access a family doctor, they often forgo routine care and resort to the emergency room when an illness escalates. Forty-four percent of Medicaid patients, for example, visit the emergency room each year — almost four times the rate of patients with private insurance.

Expanding access to primary care is deeply important to both of us. Our effort to address this problem was inspired by a leader we both knew and loved: Dan Weber, the founder of the Association of Mature American Citizens, whose passion for this issue stemmed from an experience that broke his heart. When he took his child to the emergency room during a summer trip to upstate New York, he was shocked by the number of people waiting in the rural hospital. He started talking to people only to discover that many were there because they had no other choice. A number of primary care physicians had stopped seeing Medicaid patients.

Then, he witnessed something truly devastating. A young mother arrived whose baby had died from whooping cough, a respiratory infection that could have been treated if the mother had access to a pediatrician.

Dan never forgot that young mother and child, nor have we. Her story inspired the introduction of the Helping Everyone Access Long Term Healthcare, or HEALTH, Act, which was just reintroduced last week.

To increase access to primary care physicians, the HEALTH Act provides doctors with an option to receive a tax deduction for pro-bono medical care. Under the current system, the administrative costs of applying for Medicaid or CHIP reimbursements are so high that many doctors opt out of the program.

At the same time, doctors want to help those in need. Roughly 40 % of physicians provide pro-bono medical care, even though under current law, they cannot deduct services provided at private practices, only services offered through a charity.

The HEALTH Act would change that, giving doctors more flexibility to care for patients in need. First introduced in 2018, the HEALTH Act has previously gained the support of Democratic and Republican lawmakers, but it has yet to make it to the floor for a vote. This year, Congress has an opportunity to pass this bipartisan fix to give millions better access to long-term care. Research has shown that those who have access to primary care treatment are less likely to suffer from severe illnesses or premature death. Conversely, those who have a relationship with their doctor benefit from better health outcomes.

The HEALTH Act is not a mandate. Physicians can continue receiving Medicaid and CHIP reimbursements if they so choose. It simply provides an additional option to make it easier for physicians to treat low-income patients.

In addition to delivering better care to low-income people, the HEALTH Act provides significant relief to doctors, hospitals, and taxpayers. A recent study found that doctors lose an estimated 17.4% of Medicaid claims to billing issues. Under the HEALTH Act, doctors would save thousands of hours in burdensome paperwork and be free to focus on caring for patients.

For primary care visits alone, eliminating layers of administrative costs would save taxpayers an estimated $2.8 billion annually. Even more astounding: If just 7 million of the roughly 20 million emergency room visits by Medicaid recipients became nonhospital visits, it would save an estimated $6.5 billion in taxpayer dollars.

Fortunately, the momentum for the HEALTH Act continues to grow. In addition to the Association of Mature American Citizens’s 2.2 million members, Free2Care’s coalition of more than 70,000 physicians and 8 million members also support the bill. We are proud that Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), a physician himself, is an original co-sponsor of the bill because he has seen firsthand how this legislation will help doctors treat Medicaid patients. We have had a number of constructive conversations with members on both sides of the aisle and are hopeful that the bill will garner strong bipartisan support.

The HEALTH Act certainly doesn’t solve every problem facing our healthcare system, but this commonsense fix is an important step to providing low-income people with more options for primary care treatment. We encourage every member of Congress to join our effort to pass the HEALTH Act and improve access to care for millions of vulnerable people. Their lives could very well depend on it.

Daniel Webster is a U.S. representative for Florida. Rebecca Weber is the president and CEO of the Association of Mature American Citizens, which represents 2.2 million seniors, and is the daughter of the late Dan Weber, who founded the organization.