Fact Sheet

Racial Justice and the Social Determinants of Health: Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities in June 2021

As our nation honors Juneteenth as a national holiday for the first time, this is a critical moment to recommit to the goal of racial justice in health care. June 2021 is a uniquely important inflecti...

Protecting the Health of our Nation’s Essential Workers: Congress Must Lift the “Five-Year Bar” on Medicaid and CHIP

As Congress continues to address the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that they take immediate action to address a longstanding, unnecessary gap in health coverage by lifting t...

Too Many People Are Skipping or Changing Medications Because They Are Too Expensive

In every U.S. state, a disturbingly high percentage of people face the impossible choice of foregoing or rationing medications so they can afford other basic needs. This pattern is consistent year ove...

Adding a Dental Benefit to Medicare Part B: What About Medicare Advantage or Medigap Plans?

Today, Medicare excludes coverage of routine preventive and restorative oral health care except in limited circumstances. As a result, only half of Medicare enrollees saw a dental provider in the last...

Attention Health Care Consumers: Free Health Insurance Is Available for People Who Lost Coverage When They Lost Their Jobs or Hours of Work during COVID-19

This fact sheet explains options for getting free or low-cost health insurance through COBRA or state continuation coverage, the marketplace, and Medicaid and CHIP. People who lost their job-based cov...

Principles to Advance Child Health and Well-Being in the 117th Congress: What Children and Families Need from Policymakers

As policymakers continue to focus on addressing the health and economic fallout from COVID-19, it is critical that the needs of children and families do not get lost in the shuffle. Even before the pa...

What Children and Families Need From the 117th Congress: Policy Recommendations to Improve their Health and Well-Being

In honor of Mother’s Day, we would like to reshare our 117th Congress Policy Recommendations for Children and Families. As Congress and the Biden Administration consider how best to advance criti...

Appendix 1- The Catastrophic Cost of Uninsurance, By County: COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Closely Tied to America’s Health Coverage Gaps

In this appendix, we estimate the relationship between health insurance gaps and COVID-19 infections and deaths through February 1, 2021, assuming that associations between county population character...

Appendix 2- The Catastrophic Cost of Uninsurance, By County: COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Closely Tied to America’s Health Coverage Gaps

This appendix estimates the impact of health coverage gaps on COVID-19 cases and deaths, at the county level. It begins by listing the individual counties that have experienced the greatest total impa...

Finishing the Job: Americans Want Action on the Cost of Health Care This Year, New Poll Shows

No one in this country should have to worry that they can’t afford the health care they need or have to choose between filling a prescription and paying rent or a mortgage. Families across America a...