April 4, 2007
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We're looking for examples of innovative uses of art in spreading a public policy message. And as always, if you have news from your state to share with other advocates, feel free to send it to Ann Vogel. We'll put the top stories on our "Across the States" Web page, and on the appropriate state page. Use this form to send in a brief report on what's happening, links to your (or other) Web sites for more details, and photos, if you have them.
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Inside this Issue:
Faith Groups Enlisted to Push for Health Care in Illinois
After passing legislation to cover all children in Illinois, advocates have not stopped pressing for access to high-quality, affordable health care for all state residents. The Health Care Justice Campaign’s Faith Caucus is one example of an advocate community partnering with faith communities and their leaders in the movement to provide health care coverage for everyone.
The Faith Caucus engages faith communities in a variety of ways. Last September, they held a “Faith Sabbath” which encouraged faith leaders to use one weekend to raise awareness about the issue of affordable health insurance and engage their communities. Faith leaders were also called on to provide moral testimony at task force sessions set up to provide recommendations to the state to cover all the uninsured.
Most recently, religious communities from across the state joined together for an event to “Sound the Alarm.” Communities joined together in prayer and then sounded bells, horns, and shofars 18 times to call attention to the 1.8 million uninsured people in the state.
These advocacy efforts will be even more important now that the governor has released his proposal to expand coverage.
Maryland House Passes Tobacco Tax Initiative to Expand Coverage
The Maryland Health Care for All! Coalition is undaunted. Despite a disappointing legal setback on the Fair Share legislation passed last year, they continue to press for expansion of health care coverage for state residents, most recently the Healthy Maryland Initiative.
The Initiative seeks a $1 per pack tobacco tax to provide for significant expansion of the Medicaid program to uninsured children and adults. What’s more, the Initiative would subsidize small businesses to help them provide health insurance to their employees. There would also be funds for programs to reduce health disparities. Details of the Initiative are available on the coalition’s Web site.
The Maryland House of Delegates recently passed a bill that contains similar provisions to the Initiative, yet goes even further to expand coverage. The bill, HB 754, significantly expands public programs to provide coverage to the state’s uninsured. It raises eligibility levels to 116 percent of poverty for adults and 400 percent of poverty for children and requires private insurers to cover dependents up to the age of 25. This bill now moves to the state Senate.
California Works to Expand Coverage to the Uninsured
The health reform battle in California is heating up. Three major players in the state political system have all introduced major reform plans to provide coverage to the state’s uninsured.
The governor introduced a proposal in January that would expand public programs and implement an individual mandate to ensure that all Californians obtain health insurance. The Medi-Cal and Healthy Families (SCHIP) programs would be expanded to cover all uninsured children living in families with incomes below 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($60,000 annually for a family of four). Adults without children living at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level ($9,800 annually for an individual) would receive coverage through the no-cost Medi-Cal program. Individuals with incomes below 250 percent of poverty ($24,500 annually) would receive subsidies to purchase coverage through a new state purchasing pool.
The Senate President pro tem and the Assembly Speaker introduced similar health care proposals in December. Both plans would expand eligibility for Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, impose mandates on employers to provide coverage, and implement insurance market reforms to make health insurance more affordable and accessible in the individual market. In addition, the senate proposal would institute an individual mandate for health care coverage. The Assembly Speaker’s proposal is available online at http://healthaccess.org/advocating/docs/Speaker's%20Health%20Care%20Plan%20Overview1.pdf.
For more information on what’s happening in California, check out the Health Access California Web site.
New Resources from Families USA
In the States
In December, Families USA released 50 reports showing, state-by-state, how health care premiums are rising faster than wages. To find the “Premiums versus Paychecks: A Growing Burden for State Workers” report for your state, go to State Information and select your state from the drop down menu in the right-hand column.
Using Blunt Force on Missouri's Most Vulnerable Population analyzes the damage that could be done by SB 577, a proposal to replace the state's Medicaid program.
Illinois All Kids: A Step in the Right Direction discusses the new All Kids children's coverage program, including eligibility, benefits, cost-sharing, and how the program is financed.
Vermont’s Health Reform Laws summarizes the key provisions of the two laws Vermont passed last year known as “Catamount Health.”
Private Insurance and the Uninsured
Families USA has added three new pieces documenting the risks of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
New to health insurance regulation? Understanding How Health Insurance Premiums are Regulated outlines how states and the federal government regulate health insurance premiums to assist consumers with affordability.
Medicaid and Children’s Health
In preparation for the SCHIP policy debates during reauthorization, we published a series of briefs outlining the major issues.
Soon to come is a piece on how SCHIP affects those who live in rural areas. For more information on the SCHIP fight, see the Medicaid and SCHIP Action Center.
Also see, The Great Divide: When Kids Get Sick, Insurance Matters, for ground-breaking data that show that children without health insurance receive less and inferior care, and, for those uninsured children with severe illnesses or injuries, this can lead to most severe and tragic consequences.
Health Opportunity Accounts: What Are They, and Why Should State Advocates Care? discusses the HOA provisions contained in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) and why you should be concerned if you see HOAs proposed in your state.
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