Healthcare

 

Americans have gained significantly from the ACA, even if they may not realize it. People with pre-existing conditions can get a health plan in the individual market. Young adults can stay on their parents’ plans. Moderate income families qualify for subsidies so they can afford private coverage and pay their out-of-pocket costs. Poor, working families can depend on Medicaid so they can stay employed. More people are getting care, and, importantly, preventive care.

Across the country, 29.8 million people would lose their health insurance if the Affordable Care Act were repealed—more than doubling the number of people without health insurance. And 1.2 million jobs would be lost—not just in health care but across the board.

Publications

Publication

When Work is Not Enough: Toward Better Policy to Support Wisconsin’s Working Families

In Wisconsin, policy makers seem to increasingly assume that work, and work alone, can provide a decent standard of living. However, working families continue to face a slew of challenges – low wages, inadequate benefits, insufficient hours – generated by the very jobs that are supposed to be the answer. This report highlights the disconnect between state policies and the realities of Wisconsin families working in jobs at or near the poverty line.

Expanding Home Care Options in Maryland

Home care aides provide vital care to thousands of Marylanders who have difficulty with daily tasks because of their age, a disability, or a health condition. These workers help their clients with a wide variety of critical daily tasks, such as bathing, dressing, and eating. This care enables many to remain in their homes rather than moving to a nursing home or other institution.

As Maryland’s population ages, home care is likely to become increasingly important for the health of older Marylanders and people with disabilities, as well as for our state economy. Because Medicaid pays for more than half of all home care services delivered nationwide, state policies have an important role in determining the kind and quality of home care services available.

Unfortunately, Maryland recently limited the ways aging adults and Marylanders with disabilities can obtain Medicaid-funded home care services by canceling its independent provider program. This program allowed people who receive home care services to exercise a significant degree of control over their own care, and canceling it is likely to harm both Medicaid participants and home care aides. Although the state initially projected that this program would become dramatically more costly as a result of changes in federal labor regulations, an analysis by the Maryland Center on Economic Policy shows that these costs would be relatively small. To ensure quality care for older Marylanders and Marylanders with disabilities, the state should reinstate the independent provider program.As Maryland’s population ages, home care is likely to become increasingly important for the health of older Marylanders and people with disabilities, as well as for our state economy. Because Medicaid pays for more than half of all home care services delivered nationwide, state policies have an important role in determining the kind and quality of home care services available.

The State of Health Coverage in the Mid South

  • March 23, 2017
  • Staff Report

While the nation continues to grapple with the potential impact of a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), little discussion has focused on how repealing the ACA would impact a specific region of the United States. This brief examines the implementation of the ACA in the Mid South and provides a snapshot of health insurance coverage in the region under the ACA.