Strategies to Extend Coverage to Uninsured

OVERVIEW

Jul 15 2008

Absent a comprehensive initiative to achieve quality and affordable health care for all, there are a number of steps progressive leaders can take to extend coverage to the uninsured and make coverage for the currently insured more affordable.

Extending coverage to all Americans is an economic as well as a moral issue, as the costs associated with being uninsured are not borne by the uninsured alone. In 2005, Families USA showed that unpaid care for the uninsured resulted in an average cost-shift of $922 to family insurance premiums. Families USA, at the time, projected these costs to increase to $1,502 by 2010.

This section discusses many of the leading options states have to extend coverage to working families.

From the Dispatch

How States Fare Under Obama’s Health Reform Blueprint

Feb 25 2010

This week, President Obama released his blueprint for comprehensive health care legislation. The plan 's release means Obama can outline the specifics of what he wants to see in a final bill for the first time. Many political observers see the decision to outline specifics as not only a jump start to move health care reform across the finish line but also as a stamp of approval for the Senate to use a majority vote through the reconciliation process, a strategy which appears to be gaining momentum.

State Policymakers Need to Respond to Growing Clout of Latino Voters Nationwide

Feb 18 2010

A recent report from the advocacy group America’s Voice highlighted the growing power of Latino voters in the upcoming 2010 elections. Latino voters played a critical role in 2008 to propel President Obama to victory in several key swing states that previously trended Republican, including Virginia. Latino voter registration and turnout rates have exploded over the past few years: roughly 10 million voted in the 2008 Presidential election alone, a 2.5 million increase from 2004 and 4 million person increase since 2000. Latino voter registration grew by over 54% between 2000 and 2008, and turnout grew 64% over the same time period.

Targeting Insurance Abuses as a Path to Federal Health Reform

Feb 16 2010

This Dispatch will: highlight a few of the state insurance reform campaigns underway and the health insurance problems they highlight; detail how to message these campaigns to support federal reform; provide a roundup of policy options and model bills for other states interested in moving similar insurance reforms; and end with a set of resources on the campaign, including national policy organizations, key reports, and bills moving across the country.

Job Creation and State Fiscal Relief Resolutions Moving in the States

Feb 11 2010

In the State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama stated, "...jobs must be our number-one focus in 2010, and that's why I'm calling for a new jobs bill." With the fiscal crisis forcing states to layoff hundreds of thousands of teachers, nurses and police officers, the need for more federal job creation and state fiscal relief support is clear. And there is substantial momentum building around this issue in the states.

Hypocrisy of "State Rights" Conservatives on Health Care

Feb 11 2010

Both national conservative leaders and a number of state legislators have attacked the current federal health bills as infringing on "state sovereignty." Yet they oddly ignore the fact that two of the main planks in conservative health proposals proposed by Congressional leaders -- allowing insurance companies to sell across state lines and overriding state medical malpractice laws through "tort reform" -- are far clearer attacks on state authority.

While DC Delays, States Move Forward on Health Care Reforms

Jan 28 2010

As Congress delays moving forward on the passage of comprehensive health care reform, progressive state leaders from across the country have been demanding passage of reform as critical for families across the nation. But that doesn't mean they are waiting; state leaders are moving forward, laying the groundwork for how national changes should be implemented, and creating the momentum for other meaningful health care reforms in their states.

Take Action: Additional Federal Job Creation and State Fiscal Relief Needed

Jan 05 2010

With the new year, Progressive States Network is working with allies to launch a campaign to demand a new, federal job creation plan that includes fiscal relief to state and local governments in order to foster economic growth and create and maintain jobs. We are asking state legislators to sign onto a letter to promote this job creation plan, the full text of which can be seen at www.progressivestates.org/jobcreation. Legislators can sign the letter at www.progressivestates.org/jobcreation or by emailing jobcreation@progressivestates.org.

Conservatives Introduce Anti-Health Reform Bills in the States

Dec 10 2009

Under the guise of "choice" in health care, conservatives are launching a state-based campaign to derail health reform. With support from the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), conservative legislators in at least 24 states are introducing a bill that says no one shall be required to purchase health care from the government or a government-defined health plan or be prevented from buying private insurance, and that residents shall have the right to pay for health care directly out of pocket.

Health Insurer Sues Maine for Guaranteed Profits

Oct 08 2009

A story from Maine offers up another reason why we need the choice of a public health insurance option, and it's a doozy. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine, a subsidiary of the insurance giant Wellpoint, is suing the State of Maine because the insurance commissioner refused to approve its request for a rate increase of 18.5% for its individual products, which included a guaranteed 3% profit. Commissioner Mila Koffman found Anthem's request "excessive" and approved a 10.9% average increase in premiums.

Extending Coverage by Keeping Youth on their Parents Health Care Plan

Jul 16 2009

Young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 represent one of the largest and fastest-growing segments ofthe U.S. population without health care coverage. In an effort toensure that all Americans are insured a growing number of states have enacted legislation to allow children to stay on their parents' health insurance plans well into adulthood.

Core Analysis

Health Care for All: Policy Options for 2009

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Strategies to Extend Coverage to Uninsured

OVERVIEW

From the Dispatch

How States Fare Under Obama’s Health Reform Blueprint

State Policymakers Need to Respond to Growing Clout of Latino Voters Nationwide

Targeting Insurance Abuses as a Path to Federal Health Reform

Job Creation and State Fiscal Relief Resolutions Moving in the States

Hypocrisy of "State Rights" Conservatives on Health Care

While DC Delays, States Move Forward on Health Care Reforms

Take Action: Additional Federal Job Creation and State Fiscal Relief Needed

Conservatives Introduce Anti-Health Reform Bills in the States

Health Insurer Sues Maine for Guaranteed Profits

Extending Coverage by Keeping Youth on their Parents Health Care Plan

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