Health Care for All 2010

Making History Today after almost a century of trying, today after over a year of debate, today after all the votes have been tallied, health insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America. — President Barack Obama, March 23, 2010, signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law

RESULTS Health Care Reform Campaign Goals Strengthen and expand Medicaid Increase access to primary care for underserved communities through a larger and better supported community health center network Create a strong, non-profit, public health insurance plan as an option for people to choose. Build support for a National Health Program (a.k.a. single- payer system) as the long-term vision for U.S. health care Support efforts to end childhood hunger in the United States through investments in child nutrition programs

What You Did on Health Reform RESULTS activists were often the only citizen advocates in our communities pushing Congress to expand coverage and access for people living in poverty RESULTS activists made over 1300 contacts to congressional offices RESULTS activists lobbied 55 members of Congress face-to-face RESULTS activists got at least 68 pieces of media published RESULTS activists engaged over 2000 other people in our health reform efforts

How We Did on Our Priorities Medicaid strengthened and expanded Expanded access through community health centers Built support for National Health Program Enacted a Public Health Insurance Option Invested in child nutrition programs      (2010)

Health Reform in a Nutshell On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Senate’s Patient Protection and Affordable Health Act into law On March 25, 2010, President Obama signed H.R.4872, the Reconciliation Act of 2010, which amends and improves the bill Overall the law will:  Cover 32 million uninsured persons  Prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre- existing conditions or dropping coverage when someone gets sick  Set up regulated “insurance exchanges” to help people obtain coverage  Provide subsidies to lower-income people to buy coverage  Close the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole”  Require Americans to purchase health insurance beginning in 2014

RESULTS Success: Medicaid Expanded to cover all persons with income up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line ($29, for a family of four in 2010) This will cover 16 million uninsured persons over the next ten years Federal government will pay 100 percent of the expansion for three yrs ( ); it will gradually drop to 90 percent by 2020 and remain there Payments to Medicaid primary physicians will be raised to Medicare rates in 2013 and 2014, fully paid for by the federal government All new enrollees in Medicaid will be guaranteed a base benchmark package that covers at least basic health services

RESULTS Success: Community Health Centers Funding for CHCs increased from $2 billion per year to $13 billion over five years ( ) $9.5 billion for expanding services and $1.5 billion for facilities and construction Will allow 20 million new patients to get care through CHCs National Health Service Corps will get $1.5 billion in new funding over five years The NHSC provides loans and scholarships to medical students who agree to serve in areas where there are physician shortages after graduation, many times in CHCs This funding is expected to help train 15,000 new primary care providers Reform establishes new programs to support school- based health centers and nurse-managed health clinics

RESULTS Success: National Health Program Congress did not consider a Medicare for All or “single- payer” health care model for health reform How is this a victory? Health reform makes the biggest investment in Medicaid, the largest single-payer type program in the U.S. Health reform takes steps to strengthen Medicare, the second largest single-payer program When all is said and done, over 100 million Americans will be enrolled in a publicly-funded, privately delivered health care system (single-payer) The more people are exposed single-payer health care and like it, the more momentum we build for a national health program

What’s Next on Health Reform RESULTS remains committed to a national health program as our long-term vision for U.S. health care Fight to preserve improvements to Medicaid and CHCs in health reform Example: Recent Medicaid funding to states in jobs bill is in jeopardy Without another six-month increase in “FMAP”, states will cut back Medicaid benefits and state jobs

What’s Next on Health Reform Support efforts to educate the public about the benefits of reform and implementation; push back against efforts to repeal it in Congress Support good health for children through Child Nutrition Reauthorization

Child Nutrition Reauthorization Nearly one in every four children in the U.S. lived in food insecure households in 2008 (22.5 percent of all children), up from 16.9 percent in 2007 (USDA)22.5 percent Moderate under-nutrition can have lasting effects on cognitive development of children Federal nutrition programs help feed children in low- income families Child Nutrition Reauthorization includes: School Breakfast and Lunch Special Nutrition for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Summer Food Service Program, and the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program (CACFP) President Obama has proposed ending childhood hunger in the U.S. by 2015 and his FY2011 budget calls for $10 billion in new funding for CN programs over the next ten years

Child Nutrition Reauthorization Senate bill Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee in March. The bill: Increases child nutrition funding of $4.5 billion over ten years $3.2 billion to increase reimbursement rates for school meals and $1.2 billion to improve program access and participation Expands the after school meal program to all 50 states Supports improvements in direct certification for school meals Creates new paperless options for universal meals Enhances the nutritional quality of school and pre-school food A good start but allocates less than half the President’s request in new funding

Child Nutrition Reauthorization House bill On June 10, Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA-7), along with Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY-4) and Todd Platts (R-PA-19) introduced The Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act of The bill: Increases funding for CN programs by approximately $8 billion over ten years Increases eligibility for school lunches by using Medicaid/CHIP data to directly certify children Provides greater universal meal access in high poverty communities by eliminating paper applications and using census data to determine school-wide eligibility Increases funding for nutrition education in schools Improves the nutritional quality of food Mark-up to begin in June

RESULTS Priorities for Child Nutrition Reauthorization RESULTS urges Congress to: Allocate an additional $1 billion per year ($10 billion over ten years) in new investments for child nutrition programs Increase program access and participation for low-income kids Streamline enrollment processes Fill gaps in program delivery Set us firmly on the path to meeting the President’s goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015

RESULTS: Child Nutrition Laser Talk Engage: President Obama has vowed to end childhood hunger in the U.S. by That’s a good thing because the problem is only getting worse. Problem: In 2008, nearly one in every four American children lived in food insecure households.

RESULTS: Child Nutrition Laser Talk Inform: Fortunately, Congress can do something about it this year. Child nutrition programs, like the school lunch program and WIC, are up for reauthorization in These programs help provide children around the country with nutritious food that is essential to their health and development. President Obama has requested a $10 billion increase in funding for these programs over the next ten years; this investment will provide a firm foundation to achieving his goal of eradicating childhood hunger.

RESULTS: Child Nutrition Laser Talk Call to Action (House): Will you work with House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA-7) and Ranking Member John Kline (R-MN-2), as well as House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI-12) and Ranking Member Dave Camp (D-MI-4) to secure $10 billion in new funding for child nutrition programs over the next ten years? This money will help provide critical resources to meet the needs of hungry children across the nation. Thank you for your time.

RESULTS: Child Nutrition Laser Talk Call to Action (Senate): Will you work with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), as well as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to secure $10 billion in new funding for child nutrition programs over the next ten years? This money will help provide critical resources to meet the needs of hungry children across the nation. Thank you for your time.

RESOURCES RESULTS Health Care for All pages: Health Care Resources Physicians for a National Health Program: Health Care Now: Families USA: Child Nutrition Resources Food Research and Action Center: Senate Agriculture Committee: House Education and Labor Committee: