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September/October 2009 U.S. Poverty Laser Talk

Expanding Medicaid as Congress Moves on Health Reform

The laser talk serves as a useful starting point for your advocacy work, whether as talking points for conference calls with Congressional staff (our October 2009 monthly action) or as tailored to use as talking points for a letter to the editor. Follow up with more information and evidence supporting your points. And of course, adapt the laser talk to reflect your own experiences and why you care about the issue! For more on how to create your own laser talk, see our tips on how to create and deliver a laser talk to another activist about the issue you choose, and see RESULTS Health Care for All by 2010 campaign pages for more background.

Engage: New data shows that 45,000 people die every single year in the United States because they lack health coverage; at least one-third of the uninsured fall below the poverty line and cannot get Medicaid coverage because of current program restrictions.

Problem:  While I am pleased that all of the health reform bills moving in Congress expand the Medicaid program to everyone at or below 133 percent of the poverty line, the Senate Finance bill still needs serious improvements in order to provide a reliable health safety net that protects low-income communities.

Inform or Illustrate: For example, the Senate Finance bill delays this important Medicaid expansion until 2014, and also asks states to pay for part of it, which has drawn objections from many governors. The bill also compromises health care quality by offering lower-level benefits to those who get coverage. The foundation for meaningful health reform this year must be America’s successful public programs — Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — and I hope you will support amendments that strengthen the Medicaid program.

Call to Action: Will you urge your boss to strengthen Medicaid by securing full federal financing for the expansion, providing “traditional” Medicaid benefits to all those who gain coverage, expanding access by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates, and not making our most vulnerable wait five years to get coverage through Medicaid?