Entries related to "medicaid"

Medicaid

Medicaid is a critical building block for health care reform efforts over the long term. Medicaid pays for medical assistance for individuals and families with low incomes and resources and covers 60 million low-income people, including 29.5 million children. It is administered by the states and funded by both the federal and state governments. Medicaid is larger than any single private health insurer.

RESULTS champions Medicaid expansion and improvements because it covers millions of low-income people, including children, the disabled, and seniors. Expansion is costly however, and is requiring increasing federal support to reach more people at or near the federal poverty line, and to insure that access to care is feasible for them. Some health care providers will not see Medicaid patients unless the provider receives what is deemed a reasonable reimbursement from Medicaid and this also increases the costs of Medicaid expansion.

The Long-Awaited Senate Health Reform Bill

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) released his version of health reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. There’s lots of good news here, especially for low-income Americans (our focus in this debate) — Reid’s bill expands Medicaid to all persons at or below 133 percent of the poverty line and prioritizes of funding for community health centers (CHC) along the lines of S.486. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill will cost $849 billion over ten years and reduce the federal deficit by $127 billion the first ten years. It is expected to provide 31 million uninsured persons with health coverage through Medicaid and private health coverage, thus covering 94 percent of Americans. However, the Senate must first begin debate. The Senate is expected to vote on a Motion to Proceed with tomorrow (Saturday) at 8 pm. 60 votes will be needed to pass the motion and allow debate to begin. If the motion fails, health reform will stall.

Health care reform that benefits the most vulnerable – keep the pressure on!

President Obama and House and Senate leaders have agreed to forego a formal House-Senate conference committee to reconcile the two health care reform bills and will instead negotiate informally behind closed doors. Democratic leaders stated they will overcome their remaining differences, with the aim of sending a bill to President Obama before his State of the Union address (latest scuttlebutt says February 2). Read Ann’s recap of where things stand and how we’re influencing the process.

Health Reform: A Victory for Democracy and the End of Poverty!

This week, the House and Senate finally enacted comprehensive, meaningful health reform. The passage of reform is monumental. And while we’ve heard all the talking points as to what reform will do for all Americans, discussed very little is the fact that this health reform legislation is the largest anti-poverty investment in decades.

Six Month Anniversary Gives Us Ample Reasons to Thank Congress for Health Reform

September 23 marked the six month “anniversary” of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), the landmark health reform bill signed into law on March 23. To coincide with this milestone, key provisions in the law went into effect that day, including . . .

Trojan Horse: The Global Spending Cap and Why It Is Dangerous

In The Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus devised a plan to end the decade-long Trojan War. He built a giant wooden horse disguised as a gift to the gods with Greek soldiers hiding inside. The Trojans took the bait and moved the horse inside the impregnable walls of Troy. Once inside the city, the Greeks emerged from the horse and opened the gates to the city for the Greek army to flood in. The Trojans were finally defeated. Just as the citizens of Troy mistook a dangerous weapon for a gift, we are faced with a similar threat to domestic and international aid programs through what's called a "global spending cap."

Debt Deal Passes — Let Congress Know What You Think

Below is a summary of the debt deal Congress just passed. It is important that we let our representatives and senators know what we think about it. Per the August Action, please contact your members of Congress to schedule a face-to-face meeting this month during the summer recess. The House has already recessed with the Senate to follow this week; get on their schedules now so you can tell them in person that its time to put away the politics and distractions and get down to the people’s business.

October 2011 Domestic National Conference Call: Protecting Those Living in Poverty in Budget Deal

The October RESULTS U.S. Poverty national conference call featured guest speaker Debbie Weinstein of the Coalition on Human Needs, talking about the current work of the Super Committee and its impact on federal anti-poverty programs. Debbie did a great job at providing us an overview of the Super Committee, pointing out that the choices they make could either hurt or help people, including possible cuts to anti-poverty programs like Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP (food stamps), the EITC, the CTC, etc. The conference call also included an update on recent proposals to increase funding for Head Start and Early Head Start, as well as maintain Child Care services for low-income working families. In addition, RESULTS volunteers in Tacoma, WA, and Columbus, OH, shared recent fundraising successes. Listen to the October 2011 Domestic National Conference Call: Protecting Those Living in Poverty in Budget Deal for all the details!

Super Committee “Failure”? No, a Big Sigh of Relief! Now Let's Get to Work on Wealth Gap

Many are calling the Super Committee a failure – but we at RESULTS are relieved at this outcome given the possibility we could have seen draconian cuts to Medicaid and (SNAP, formerly food stamps) in an unbalanced and unfair deal that locked in tax breaks for millionaires and corporations that would widen the wealth gap further. We will continue to push for smart investments in programs that make a difference in the lives of millions who live in poverty here and around the world to minimize the impact of the automatic cuts, grateful that Congress did not decimate safety net programs for tax giveaways for the “haves” this holiday season.