Central to our core value that every single human being deserves an equitable chance to enjoy the best health possible is that no one is excluded. Not even if they were born outside of the United States. Not even if they lack the proper paperwork.
Health Action 2018: Staying Strong for America’s Families will be Mina Schultz’s fourth Health Action conference. Mina, who is currently a Master’s student studying Health Policy and an Outreach Specialist with Get Covered NYC, has a real passion for health care. Whether it was her personal fight against cancer at age 25, or helping others to enroll in coverage as a Certified Application Counselor (CAC) in West Virginia, Mina has tirelessly fought for her coverage and the coverage of many others.
Update 12/20: Congress passed the tax plan and President Trump will sign it into law soon. Both the rushed, secretive process used to draft the bill and the bill itself are travesties.
The tax plan was written with such secrecy and speed that we probably won’t know all the details—and all the impact—for some time. But one thing is certain: If passed, it will gut health coverage for millions and set the stage for massive cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act.
Mouths matter—that is the finding in a national survey on public support for dental coverage.
More than 80 percent of people who were asked said they supported providing publicly-funded dental care assistance to low-income adults and families, and even more support coverage through Medicare, according to a Families USA survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted by GS Strategy Group and PerryUndem.
On December 1, Families USA partnered with First Focus to give congressional staff the opportunity to hear how states are handling the unprecedented delay in funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Briefing Speakers:
Joan Alker - Executive Director, Georgetown Center for Children and Families
Maureen Hensley-Quinn - Senior Program Director, NASHP
Moderator: Frederick Isasi - Executive Director, Families USA
Senator Murkowski just endorsed a policy that would repeal the Affordable Care Act coverage for 13 million people. Unfortunately, in addition to causing millions to lose coverage, this policy will make premiums go higher, not lower.
The latest version of the partisan tax bill that Republican leadership is working to rush through Congress presents new dangers to health care and health insurance for millions of families in America.
To finance $338 billion in tax cuts for the wealthy and large corporations, President Trump’s allies in the Senate have just proposed to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual coverage requirement.
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed its bill to extend funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a vitally important program that provides health insurance to 9 million children nationwide. Now the Senate takes up CHIP funding.
Senators need to hear from advocates and from governors. Advocates should let their senators know that they want a five-year CHIP funding bill as soon as possible and one that doesn’t pay for CHIP by cutting coverage or increasing the numbers of uninsured. Advocates should push their governors to contact Senators with the same message. Now.
2017 has been an eventful year for health and health care legislation in the states. Despite the challenges critical health programs face at the federal level, states have continued to move forward to pass health and health care bills to the benefit of their residents.
Families USA has reviewed hundreds of bills from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, to assess the legislative trends of 2017. Advocates, policymakers, and other stakeholders can review these 2017 legislative opportunities, as well as some legislative threats to our goals, to inform plans for the 2018 state legislative sessions.
This year, several states passed budgets that expand oral health coverage for adults in Medicaid. Expanding this coverage goes a long way to improving overall health, making oral health care more accessible and affordable, and reducing unnecessary emergency room costs to both states and individuals. Now that state advocates and policy makers are planning for 2018 budgets, it is important to learn from the progress that was made, where these policies fell short, and consider how threats to oral health could also arise in state budget processes.
