The Senate is expected to vote on its version of the Big Brutal Bill this week and—like its House counterpart—it’s devastating for nutrition and health care programs for vulnerable communities.
The Senate proposal includes the largest cut to SNAP in history, as part of a budget package that guts basic needs programs.
The bill also contains the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, and will result in 16 million people losing their health insurance. A recent analysis of the House-passed bill found that because of the cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, and reduced staffing requirements at nursing homes, 51,000 people will die each year.
Additionally, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as many as 330 rural hospitals nationwide could close or reduce services as a result of this bill. And, new research shows that cuts to Medicaid along with SNAP will reduce jobs by 1.2 million nationwide, equivalent to about a 0.8% increase in the unemployment rate.
Cutting the heart out of basic needs programs including SNAP and Medicaid doesn’t save states or the federal government money—it denies care and creates bigger problems down the road, shifting the burden to service providers, local governments, and taxpayers. This will lead to higher costs and more strain on budgets—household and state budgets alike. And it will cost lives.
It’s not too late to change course. Now more than ever, it’s critical that the Senate act to protect health care, nutrition, and other essential services that help millions of families meet their basic needs. We should strengthen support for these programs—not take them away
The Medicaid Unwinding Edition. One year ago this week, states were required to begin a process known as “Medicaid unwinding” — determining who on their Medicaid rolls was eligible to remain on Medicaid and who was not. During the pandemic, Congress told states not to do the usual periodic determinations of eligibility, so that people would remain eligible for health care if they contracted COVID-19. But as part of a spending bill passed in December 2022, states were required to resume their eligibility checks. As of the end of March, there were nearly 12 million fewer people on Medicaid, compared to a year before, of whom nearly 5 million were children.
Tax season has arrived! Between now and April 15, you should plan to file your Tax Year 2023 taxes. Follow our steps below to make sure you don’t miss out on any tax benefits for you and your family.
The internet is an integral part of our lives in this digital age. Nowadays, we rely on the internet not only for staying in touch with friends and family and entertainment but also for worship, work, health care, and managing our finances.
The Coalition on Human Needs helps lead Count All Kids, a campaign to improve the count of children in census data, and also advocates to improve how the census counts other communities where many members are missed, such as communities of color. When everyone in a community is counted, the community has more political power, more funding in programs that matter for kids, and better data to manage government programs and to help private sector planning too.
Since April 1, 2023, when states were allowed to terminate Medicaid beneficiaries for the first time since 2020, the “unwinding” of COVID-19 continuous coverage requirements has triggered huge Medicaid losses. Based on data from March 26, 2024, Medicaid covers 12 million fewer people than when unwinding began, including almost 5 million fewer children. Although some who lose Medicaid either return to the program or move to other coverage, historically two-thirds experience a brief or prolonged period without any insurance.
CHN applauds the Office of Management and Budget for the revised Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity released today. These standards will significantly improve our understanding of our country’s diversity. The data collected using these standards will be far more accurate and will be used for everything from redistricting at the federal, state, and local levels, to ensuring equal opportunity and fair treatment for all students, to assessing differences in disease rates and health care for different communities, to ensuring equal access to federally funded programs and benefits.
A new report grades all states plus Washington, D.C. on a range of care policies – and while many are improving, not a single state walked away with an ‘A.’ The report, Care Matters: A 2024 Report Card for Policies in the States, was researched, written, and published by The Century Foundation and Caring Across Generations. It assessed states’ performances across multiple issue areas – child care and early learning, home- and community-based services, paid family and medical leave, paid sick days, fair working conditions for care workers, and family supporting tax policies.
In his State of the Union address earlier this month, President Biden called on Congress to restore the fully expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC). This version of the CTC is similar but not identical to one enacted for 2021 only and that cut child poverty by more than a third. The President also proposed restoring the 2021 CTC in his FY2025 budget proposal. The President is clearly aware of the transformational impact the 2021 CTC had for millions of children and families. He is right to want it again.
The FY 2025 budget needs edition. As we write this, Congress is limping along toward what we hope will be final passage of the FY 2024 appropriations bills. Because Congress is almost six months late in completing this process (the FY 2024 year began on October 1, 2023), human needs advocates are preparing to pivot quickly to 2025 spending.
Editor’s note: Below is a letter sent on behalf of the Coalition on Human Needs to all members of the House of Representatives, urging a “yes” vote on the package of appropriations bills before them. Update: After the House approved the package Friday afternoon, a second letter urging package was delivered to all members of the Senate. The Senate gave final approval to the legislation early Saturday morning, and it is on its way to President Biden’s desk for his signature.
Millions of Americans with low incomes will begin to lose internet access this May if Congress does not renew funding for a popular program aimed at reducing the digital divide between those who can afford broadband access and those who cannot. Since the launch of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) as part of bipartisan infrastructure legislation passed in 2021, the program has signed up an impressive 23 million Americans – the result of an effective outreach effort by the Biden Administration, state and local governments, and community organizers.
President Biden’s FY 2025 budget lays out important steps to meet our nation’s needs, provides help to those who need it most, invests in our future, and reduces the deficit over the next decade. These investments and deficit reduction are possible because the budget requires profitable corporations and the wealthy to pay more of their fair share in taxes. This combination of equity and investment make the Biden budget a highly responsible roadmap for the next decade and beyond.
