Celebrate 50 Years of Medicaid by Expanding It to Cover More People

Persistence pays off. Let’s remember this as we celebrate 50 years of Medicaid on July 30. In 1965, Medicaid entered the world as a Medicare add-on for low-income families. Now, the program provides comprehensive coverage to more people than any other insurer in the United States. Almost 70 million people in the U.S. turn toContinue reading “Celebrate 50 Years of Medicaid by Expanding It to Cover More People”

Take Down the Confederate Flag – And Raise Up Medicaid Expansion

This opinion piece by LeeAnn Hall was originally published in Huffington Post. It’s tempting, this summery week, to sit and savor the sweet victory that was handed us by the Supreme Court in late June with the King v. Burwell decision. The court’s ruling protected the health care subsidies that allow 6.4 million people toContinue reading “Take Down the Confederate Flag – And Raise Up Medicaid Expansion”

A Question for Lawmakers Who Backtrack on Expanded Health Coverage: Seriously?

With two weeks left in the second enrollment period for Affordable Care Act health coverage, marketplace enrollment is projected to reach between 9 million and 9.9 million people this year. That’s a net increase of between 2 and 3 million people gaining coverage through the marketplaces. Millions more will gain coverage through Medicaid expansion. That’sContinue reading “A Question for Lawmakers Who Backtrack on Expanded Health Coverage: Seriously?”

Report Card: States Rejecting Medicaid Expansion Get Poorest Grades on Women’s Health

The Alliance for a Just Society has released a Women’s Health Report Card that reveals which states get poor and failing grades when it comes to women’s health and to ensuring access to quality, affordable and timely health care – important measures of states’ public health infrastructure. The report card is here: https://www.allianceforajustsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/50-State-Rankings-and-Grades-Table.pdf The fullContinue reading “Report Card: States Rejecting Medicaid Expansion Get Poorest Grades on Women’s Health”

Hospitals and Clinics Feel the Pain of Medicaid Expansion Politics

This article by LeeAnn Hall, executive director of Alliance for a Just Society, was originally published in Huffington Post. Is your state refusing to expand Medicaid? If so, it could be putting your health at risk, whether you’d qualify for Medicaid or not. That’s because the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – the health reform billContinue reading “Hospitals and Clinics Feel the Pain of Medicaid Expansion Politics”

Legislators Who Block Medicaid Expansion Are Stiffing Veterans Out of Health Care

** This article by LeeAnn Hall  first appeared in Huffington Post ** The scandal over long wait times for veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs health system has grabbed a lot of headlines and elicited a lot of righteous anger – as it should. America’s veterans deserve so much better. But as Ezra KleinContinue reading “Legislators Who Block Medicaid Expansion Are Stiffing Veterans Out of Health Care”

ACA Enrollment Figures Show More Focus Needed On Latino Communities

HHS must do more to close the Latino coverage gap; state officials who’ve resisted ACA implementation bear responsibility for making it worse. For Immediate Release: Friday, May 2, 2014 Contact: Kathy Mulady, Communications Director, kathy@allianceforajustsociety.org, (206) 992-8787 Seattle, WA – The Alliance for a Just Society released the following statement from executive director LeeAnn HallContinue reading “ACA Enrollment Figures Show More Focus Needed On Latino Communities”

After Obamacare Enrollment, Three Critical Steps

This article by LeeAnn Hall, first appeared in Colorlines.com More than 7.1 million people have obtained health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, despite the early confusion and glitches with the computer system. In addition, 6.3 million are approved for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and an estimated 3 million more young peopleContinue reading “After Obamacare Enrollment, Three Critical Steps”

Hall and Smedley in USA Today: Provide Data, Expand Medicaid to Close Racial Health Divide

On the opinion pages of USA Today, LeeAnn Hall, executive director of the Alliance for a Just Society, and Dr. Brian Smedley, with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, call on on HHS to release full data on who is enrolling – and who is being missed. They also call on states whereContinue reading “Hall and Smedley in USA Today: Provide Data, Expand Medicaid to Close Racial Health Divide”

Work, Productivity, Play and Compensation in America

Americans work longer and harder than our peers in almost every industrial nation. On average Americans are working 1800 hours per year, beating out Germany, France, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Spain, United Kingdom, Australia and Finland. According to The International Labour Organization American released a report stating that “workers in the United States on average produceContinue reading “Work, Productivity, Play and Compensation in America”