Medicaid expansion is critical to achieving the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) goal of providing access to affordable health coverage. The expansion was originally intended to be required of all states participating in the Medicaid program, but the 2012 Supreme Court ruled it optional. This has led 23 states to refuse…
Archives: Voices
Health for All
Health care is important because….. While the Affordable Care Act is already improving the health and lives of millions of Americans, more than 40 million people in the United States still do not have health insurance. As a result, millions aren’t getting the care they need, jeopardizing both their health and…
Vivek Murthy for Surgeon General
The Senate should not go home without confirming Dr. Vivek Murthy for Surgeon General. He has been endorsed by over 100 health organizations, including the American Heart Association, the American Public Health Association, and many associations representing physicians, nurses, and public health experts. Throughout his career, he has founded organizations…
Fact of the Week: Young Adults More Likely to Be Poor Now than in 1980
New data released by the Census Bureau last Thursday show that young adults age 18-34 are more likely to live in poverty now than they were in 1980. The Census Explorer’s Young Adults: Then and Now looks how this age group has changed in the last several decades in a…
CTJ Report: Extenders Bill is a Wasteful Corporate Giveaway
[Editor’s note: This post was originally published on the Tax Justice Blog, a project of Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, on Dec. 4. For additional information on the tax extenders bill, see CHN’s recent post, “Congress Almost Serves Up a Turkey of a…
Head Smacker: House Extremists Waste Precious Time on Bill to Harm Millions of Immigrants
In his prime-time address announcing his executive action on immigration, President Obama challenged Congress – particularly those who oppose his action – to “pass a bill.” Today, the House took up that challenge. Unfortunately, they didn’t vote on the comprehensive immigration bill the Senate passed with strong bipartisan support well…
Fact of the Week: Cash Assistance Programs Help Children, Even into Adulthood
As I was getting ready for work one day last month, I heard a story on NPR that caught my attention. It caught the attention of my boss, Deborah Weinstein, too, and we talked about it shortly after we both arrived at work that morning. The story involved NPR’s Shankar…
Congress Almost Serves Up a Turkey of a Tax Bill…But President Obama Gives it the Bird
While many of us were getting ready for guests or to travel to family, reports surfaced that Senate Majority Leader Reid and some of his colleagues were working out a deal with House tax-writers to extend about $450 billion in tax cuts that would otherwise expire at the end of…
Fact of the Week: Child Homelessness at Historic High in U.S.
Imagine an elementary school classroom with roughly 30 kids in it, seated at their desks. Pick out and focus on one kid until you can see his or her face. Now imagine that kid is homeless. And not just that kid, but a kid just like him or her in…
10 Things We’re Thankful For This Thanksgiving
The grocery stores were crowded this weekend as people picked up all of the fixings for their upcoming Thanksgiving meal. Soon the roads and airports will be packed with travelers going near and far to see family and friends. In this time of bounty, we are mindful of course of the…
President Obama Acts to Right Wrongs That Affront Our Ideals
Look at 10-year-old Stephanie Pucheta’s face on the video, sad but determined to tell her family’s story. She describes the day her father was put in jail and then deported, putting a stop to his helping her with her homework and playing with her in the park. Her mother is…
One Reaction to the President’s Executive Action
[Editor’s note: In August, CHN organized a conference call with the Obama Administration and several people who provide services to immigrants around the country. With the President’s action last night, we asked the on-the-ground experts who participated in the call to share their reactions. One response is below.] The word that struck…