2017

The Tax Bill’s Sneak Attack on Health Care for Millions

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....

Senator Murkowski: Repealing the Individual Mandate Will Make the Insurance Market Worse

Yesterday, Senator Lisa Murkowski—one of the three Republican Senators to stop the repeal of the Affordable Care Act last July—endorsed a policy that would repeal the Affordable Care Act coverage�...

Children’s Health Can’t Wait: Congressional CHIP Briefing

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 Insuranc...

The Tax Bill Is Bad for America’s Health

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 p...

Health and Health Care in the 2017 State Legislatures: Opportunities, Threats, and What to Expect in 2018

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...

Public Supports Better Insurance Coverage for Dental Care, Survey Finds

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 ca...

Repeal and Replace Could Reverse Progress on Oral Health

Former U.S. surgeon generals refer to oral disease as a “silent epidemic” affecting some of our most vulnerable citizens. People who lack coverage for oral health care are likely to forego prev...

Medicare Should Pay for Oral Health Care That Is Necessary to Manage Serious Illnesses

Oral health is an important part of overall health for everyone – but it can be crucially important to someone who is fighting a serious condition, such as kidney failure, an autoimmune disease, can...

Oral Health Coverage Boosted in Some State Budgets, Lessons for 2018

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 ac...

Oral Health Lands on Advocates’ Agendas Across the Nation

Even as health care has become a politically charged issue this year, we’ve seen oral health advocates work diligently and some states make progress to improve oral health benefits in their Medicaid...