Category Archives: Healthcare

A Moral Budget Will Cultivate Thriving Communities

A Moral Budget Will Bring Thriving Communities

JoAnn Goedert, Ignatian Volunteer Corp Member
Government Relations Special Contributor
April 5, 2023

Our federal budget can reveal the respect and care we have for each other. As Mary Novak, NETWORK Lobby’s Executive Director, reminds us, “Budgets are moral documents; how we tax and how we spend reveals a set of moral choices.” President Biden has delivered a hopeful and optimistic vision for the country in his Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Budget. With few exceptions, President Biden’s budget embodies moral choices, and sets legislative goals, that can advance NETWORK’s Build Anew agenda. A moral budget will cultivate thriving communities nationwide. 

Build Anew can bring us to an inclusive, multiracial, and multi-faith democracy. The transformative policy agenda envisions basic economic security, education, criminal justice, health care, and more — for everyone, no exceptions. Build Anew calls for all of us to have the freedoms and resources we need to live thriving lives. This requires policies and programs that ensure the wages and work conditions that American workers need to pay their bills, enjoy family life, and retire with dignity. Too often, wealthy corporations choose not to pay workers for the true value of their work and refuse to pay our country what they truly owe in taxes. In his budget, President Biden commits to offer workers and their families the tools they need to thrive and to finally make wealthy people and corporations pay what they truly owe through taxes. 

Read on to see where NETWORK’s Build Anew policy agenda is present in President Biden’s budget to see why we are confident a moral budget will bring thriving communities

CRITICAL INVESTMENTS IN FAMILIES, CHILDREN, AND COMMUNITIES 

President Biden’s budget boldly includes critical human investments that the NETWORK community has long advocated to help individuals, families, and children achieve economic security and thrive.   

Expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) 

Millions of families were struggling to make ends meet  when the American Rescue Plan was passed and expanded the CTC, allowing millions of parents to achieve financial stability and care for their children. That provision alone cut child poverty in half in 2021, to the lowest level in history. The expanded CTC: 1) increased benefit levels, particularly for young children; 2) expanded access to reach children in families with the lowest incomes who were formerlyleft out; and 3) paid benefits in monthly installments.   

The expanded CTC has expired, and bringing it back is a moral and an economic imperative.  NETWORK is heartened to see that it is a key element in the Biden Budget.  

Permanently Expands the Earned Income Tax Credit 

The FY24 budget also calls on Congress to permanently expand the EITC for childless workers. The expanded EITC was part of the American Rescue Plan and has expired. This provision helped younger workers and older workers without children and who did not previously qualify for the credit to emerge from poverty. The expansions ensured no low-wage workers were taxed into poverty. Permanently expanding the EITC and the improvements in the Child Tax Credit are two priorities this year.  

Paid Family and Sick Leave 

President Biden’s budget proposes a national paid family and medical leave program that would at last provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave for workers.  The budget also calls on Congress to pass legislation requiring employers to provide seven paid sick days to all workers. 

IMPROVED ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE

The president’s budget includes a range of proposals to improve access to high-quality, affordable health care, some of which have been integral elements of the Build Anew agenda:

Funding to Improve Black Maternal Health

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations, and rates are disproportionately high for Black women. A Black maternal health crisis has left black women three to four times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than white women. It doesn’t have to be this way–more than half of these deaths are preventable! We know what we need to do so that more Black mothers and their babies can thrive. The 2021 Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act offered a comprehensive roadmap for addressing the racial inequities that underlie this health crisis. NETWORK lobbied vigorously for this bill, but it failed to pass in the last Congress. We are pleased to see that the president’s FY24 budget includes $471 million to expand maternal health initiatives and requires all states to provide continuous Medicaid coverage for 12 months postpartum, eliminating gaps in health insurance at a critical time.

Permanent Affordable Care Act (ACA) Premium Reductions and Expansion to Medicaid

The budget builds on the remarkable success of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), by making permanent the average $800 per year premium cuts through expanded premium tax credits that the Inflation Reduction Act extended. It also provides Medicaid-like coverage to individuals in states that have not adopted Medicaid expansion under the ACA, paired with financial incentives to ensure states maintain their existing expansions.

The FY24 budget invests $150 billion over 10 years to improve and expand Medicaid’s home and community-based services which would allow older Americans and individuals with disabilities to remain in their homes and stay active in their communities as well as improve the quality of jobs for home care workers.

The budget also shores up funding for community health centers—which provide comprehensive services regardless of ability to pay, and which serve one in three people living in poverty and one in five rural residents.

Reduced Prescription Drug Costs

The budget calls for strengthening the newly established drug negotiation power in Medicare by extending it to more drugs and bringing drugs into negotiation sooner after they launch.  And there’s a proposal to limit Medicare Part D cost-sharing for high-value generic drugs used for certain chronic conditions like hypertension and high cholesterol to no more than $2.

Saving Medicare for the Future

President Biden’s budget will ensure Medicare is fully funded until at least 2050. It does this by increasing the Medicare tax rate on investment income above $400,000 to 5% from 3.8%, by closing a tax loophole that lets some wealthy business owners avoid this tax, and by expanding Medicare’s ability to negotiate prescription drug prices. Not a penny in benefits will be cut.

EXPANDED ACCESS TO FOOD, HOUSING, AND EDUCATION FOR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES

The Build Anew agenda recognizes that, before marginalized individuals, families and communities can thrive, adequate food, housing, and educational opportunities are essential. The FY24 budget shares that recognition and proposes important steps to expand access in these critical areas:

Full Funding of Maternal and Child Nutrition Programs

The Biden Budget includes $6.3 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and provides over $15 billion for States and local schools to expand free school meals to an additional 9 million children.

Housing

The Budget includes $59 billion in mandatory funding and tax incentives to incentivize local governments to address the critical shortage of affordable housing in communities throughout the country. By expanding the supply of housing, the budget would help curb cost growth across the broader housing market.

In the budget, the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program expands the current capacity of 2.3 million low-income families with rental assistance to obtain housing in the private market. The budget provides $32.7 billion to maintain services for all currently assisted families and expand assistance to an additional 50,000 households, particularly those who are experiencing homelessness or fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, or other forms of gender-based violence.

Protecting Foster Care Kids and Veterans

To further ensure that more households have access to safe and affordable housing, the budget includes mandatory funding to support two populations that are particularly vulnerable to homelessness—youth aging out of foster care and extremely low-income (ELI) veterans. The budget provides $9 billion to establish a housing voucher program for the  20,000 youth aging out of foster care annually and $13 billion to incrementally expand rental assistance for 450,000 ELI veteran families, paving a path to guaranteed assistance for all who have served the Nation and are in need.

Improved Access to Education for Low Income Students

The budget increases Title I funding to schools in low-income communities by $2.2 billion and increases Pell Grants by $500. It also offers funding to expand free community college and two years of subsidized tuition to low- and middle-income students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other minority-serving institutions.

Funding for Workforce Training for Good Jobs

The Biden budget proposes an investment of over $600 million in training programs, especially for workers of color, women, and those living in rural areas, targeted at good-paying jobs in high demand industries and professions.

PROTECTING DEMOCRACY AND THE FREEDOM TO VOTE

As NETWORK advocates for the common good, we know that economics alone will not assure that communities, families, and children can flourish. At the foundation of the Build Anew Agenda is the understanding that all of us, regardless of our race or class, must have a secure right to vote and to be safe in our homes and communities, and to thrive with dignity.

Democracy

The assault on our democracy continues with former President Trump’s “Big Lie” about 2020 election results continuing to manifest itself in the degradation of confidence in and security of our elections processes. NETWORK is pleased to see that the budget proposes $5 billion in new election administration and Civil Rights Division oversight funding to be allocated over 10 years. This investment would assure that poll workers and elections authorities have the proper resources to aid in strengthening election integrity and security until Congress can pass robust voting rights and election security legislations, like the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Criminal Justice Advancement

Unfortunately, the budget seeks to revive ineffective 1990s policies by calling for the funding of 100,000 new police officers among other unbridled funding without specific accountability measures. Yet, we are thankful for the $5 billion over 10 years for community violence interventions, $409 billion allotted for key investments furthering First Step Act implementation, and the Board of Prisons and Department of Labor collaboration for training and other programs for citizens returning from federal prisons. Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities across our country continue to be plagued by police abuse and violence. Too often, interactions with law enforcement result in harm or death–often when the victim is unarmed or running away. The deaths of George Floyd, Sandra Bland, Tyre Nichols, Breonna Taylor and many others murder because of racial violence in God’s beloved community, must be mitigated by evidence-informed interventions to keep all people safe and reduce our reliance on the criminal-legal system. Data-driven community policing and safety solutions must be codified into federal law by Congress.

MAKING THE WEALTHY PAY WHAT THEY OWE

All of us agree that contributions made into our shared economy should be equitable. For too long, politicians have allowed wealthy people and businesses to pay less than what they owe in taxes, and at the same time, they’ve shamed people working low wage jobs for being a drain on the United States. When billionaires enjoy relatively no tax burden, but middle-class and working-class Americans pay what they owe into our shared economy, that is the true drain on taxpayers – that is economic injustice!

The Biden budget includes calls for the wealthiest U.S. individuals and corporations to finally pay their fair share, while ensuring that no on making less than $400,000 a year will pay more in taxes. In a series of proposals, the budget would institute a minimum tax on billionaires, raise the corporate tax rate and end offshore tax breaks, repeal the Trump tax cuts that provides windfalls to the top one percent, and cut wasteful federal spending on Big Oil, Big Pharma and other wealthy special interests.  This stands in sharp contrast to MAGA Republicans in the House and Senate that have proposed to slap a 30% national sales tax on everything Americans buy, from groceries to healthcare to cars.

Biden’s budget also prioritizes tax enforcement resources to keep watch on rich and corporate tax cheats. To be clear, those who shirk their responsibility to our shared economy by evading hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes they owe every year. Republicans have voted to slash that funding to give rich tax cheaters a free ride. The resulting loss of revenue will actually increase the deficit by more than $100 billion.

NETWORK CAUTIONS AGAINST UNWARRANTED SPENDING

Unfortunately, the FY24 budget proposes increases in wasteful military spending, as well as additional funding on immigration enforcement, expanding militarization of the border that offers no solution to the situation there and can only compound the suffering of migrants seeking a safer, better life in the U.S.

Such measures fly in the face of both the Biden Administration stated vision for our country and NETWORK’s Build Anew agenda.

THE OPPOSITION TO BIDEN’S BUDGET  

Following President Biden’s State of the Union speech in February 2023, the House Budget Committee was quick to announce a series of drastic cuts to fundamental economic security programs that provide a lifeline for our families, children, and marginalized communities.  The GOP proposal would target basic food assistance, including SNAP, affordable health care, student loans, migrant legal services, and projects that protect the environment and reduce the impact of climate change. In the name of deficit reduction, these proposals may well make the thriving lives that Build Anew calls for an impossibility.

Not surprisingly, the MAGA Republicans reacted to the Biden budget with words of contempt, a vow to prevent its enactment, and redoubled calls for deep cuts to essential poverty prevention programs and environmental protections.  At the same time, they have begun maneuvers to continue the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy. 

Friends, the choice is clear for justice-seekers: we must act to reject House MAGA Republican initiatives that will deprive people of the ability to earn a wage that supports a thriving life, ensures health care that is affordable and accessible, and allows families to climb out of poverty.

We are working for a country where children have enough food to eat, our homes are , and everyone can afford life-saving prescriptions.

We know what our communities need to thrive, and we have the faith and love to advocate for our neighbors, and we have the strength to advocate for what we need, because we are seeking justice together!NETWORK staff and supporters have helped families thrive before by advocating for the expanded CTC and access to affordable housing, food, and other initiatives to advance the Build Anew agenda. We must work together again, through your advocacy and our lobbying, so that children, and their parents, guardians, and communities have the support they need.

Join the Thriving Communities

 

 

 

Be A Hero hosted a candlelight vigil at the White House calling for a 'True TRIPS waiver' for global vaccine equity and to save lives

Congress and President Biden Must Take Domestic and International COVID-19 Action

Congress and President Biden Must Take Domestic and International COVID-19 Action

Elissa Hackerson
May 13, 2022

How do you carve out a “new normal” in the calm days that follow the urgent times of a pandemic? Two years into life with COVID-19, people in the United States have yet to reach consensus on the path to achieve and maintain normalcy. Medical experts, governments, houses of worship, and ordinary citizens do not accept a uniform standard of safety and protection. Tensions arise over mask requirements in public spaces, vaccines and therapeutics are questioned, restrictions on large public gatherings are shunned, and the efficacy of booster shots is debated. In developed countries like ours, this is privileged discourse. Domestic and international COVID-19 infections persist, but most of us have taken the shot and are now blessed with significantly diminished threats of death and serious illness.

But what about our global siblings in under-resourced nations? How do they fare in places where jabs in the arm aren’t coming because of a lack of political will and resources? The short answer is, not well.

Global Vaccine rates in low-income and middle-income countries are dismally low | Congress and President Biden Must Take Domestic and International COVID-19 Action

© UNICEF/Maria Wamala
COVID-19 vaccinations are being administered in communities hosting refugees, such as Fort Portal, in Uganda.

Globally, only 80% of people in lower-income countries have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The United Nations reports that of the more than 10 billion doses given out worldwide, only one percent have been administered in low-income countries. Here, there is no debate: citizens across the globe that don’t have an economy like ours, and thus lack access to life-saving vaccines and therapeutics, are suffering. They are ravaged by a pernicious disease tamed by remedies in our country because of economic and health inequities: lack of funds to secure the vaccines and therapeutics, well-resourced countries hoarding supply, and Big Pharma’s preference for patent control and profits over sharing the science for lower-cost vaccine production.

Last October, in remarks given at the World Meeting of Popular Movements, Pope Francis called on pharmaceutical companies to release vaccine patents to make COVID-19 accessible by the poor. He noted at the time that only 3%-4% of the population in some countries had been vaccinated. One would hope that Big Pharma and world leaders would reflect on that dismally low vaccination rate, heed the words of the Pope, and take action that values lives over profit. But that didn’t happen.

What can people of faith do? Be a pest for those in poverty here and abroad 

In the Popular Movements meeting, Pope Francis recognized that some consider him to be a “pest” because of his unwavering defense of the poor and vulnerable. It doesn’t stop him in the pursuit of prophetic Christianity and it won’t stop NETWORK, either. As a member of the Catholic Cares Coalition, a national coalition of 60 Catholic religious and non-profit organizations promoting domestic COVID-19 vaccination and working to address COVID-19 vaccine and treatment equity in the U.S. and globally, we advocate for life-saving vaccine policies. Most recently, NETWORK signed on to a coalition letter urging Congress to pass a supplemental funding bill that prioritizes funding for ongoing domestic and international COVID-19 needs.

The pressure for domestic COVID-19 funds is necessary because nationwide, government money that secured hospital resources and rapid response measures during the height of the pandemic are running out. In our current landscape, if the government doesn’t pass a supplemental bill, it is likely that our “new normal” includes locking out Medicaid recipients, the uninsured, and the under-insured from free and deeply affordably COVID-19-related care, treatment and vaccines. It is critical that we provide funding which allows the United States to respond to these needs while also fulfilling our promises to assist those around the world.

NETWORK’s Request to Congress:

We support the Catholic Cares Coalitions request: pass the supplemental funding bill with at least $10 billion in domestic funding and $5 billion in international funds for COVID-19 vaccines, testing, therapeutics and delivery system strengthening.

What’s a TRIPS Waiver for COVID-19 All About?

Laura Peralta-Schulte Speaks at a White House Candlelight Vigil Calling for a True TRIPS waiver | Congress and President Biden Must Take Domestic and International COVID-19 Action

Laura Peralta-Schulte speaks at a White House candlelight vigil in May 2022 calling for a true TRIPS waiver.

The Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an agreement created when the World Trade Organization was formed in 1995. This agreement restricts the rights to make and distribute patented medicines or materials, including COVID vaccines, testing and treatment, except under emergency conditions.

This Agreement, pushed by knowledge-based economies like the United States and the multinational, research-intensive pharmaceutical industry, imposed a base of protections for intellectual property rights, from patents to copyrights. Johns Hopkins University

In an effort to decrease pandemic deaths and illnesses, a COVID TRIPS waiver was proposed by South African and Indian governments to relax the intellectual property rights protections for medicines and technologies needed to prevent and treat COVID-19. This initial effort to release the science so lives could be saved was rebuffed by developed nations and pharmaceutical companies — who’ve thus far proven maximizing profits and maintaining control of monopolies is more important than saving lives. South Africa and India amended their waiver request so that it subsides in three years. The cap on the TRIPS waiver was intended to make rich countries and Big Pharma in Europe and North America feel better about lost profits and diminished control (in exchange for saving the lives of the global poor), but the measure has yet to draw support.

Are We Our Brother’s (And Sister’s) Keeper?

Congress and President Biden Must Take Domestic and International COVID-19 Action

Ady Barkan appears on screen at a White House candlelight vigil calling for vaccine equity.

Humanitarian efforts to protect our global siblings should trump financial gains and political posturing. After all, the United States is privileged to benefit from Big Pharma’s vaccine supply. Don’t we have a moral obligation to help vaccinate the rest of the world? Pope Francis would say yes!. And so would Ady Barkan, the founder and co-executive director of Be A Hero. During his electoral campaign, Joe Biden promised Barkan that, “if the United States were to discover a vaccine, he would ensure that no patents stand in the way of other countries’ and companies’ mass-producing it.” As president, Mr. Biden has stated that patents and international trade agreements should not be allowed to prevent the affordable production of COVID-19 treatments.

Unfortunately, these have been empty pledges to date. Pfizer and Moderna, two of the companies that received billions of dollars in public taxpayer funding to develop their vaccines, have not shared their innovation with global scientists. This is particularly disturbing in the case of Moderna’s vaccine project which was completely funded by public money. While U.S. tax dollars fueled the Moderna vaccine, the company padded their profit margin, Moderna forecasts at least $19 billion in sales in 2022.

NETWORK and our Catholic and interfaith partners will continue calling on the U.S. government to share live-saving technology and know-how with countries in the global South so that they can begin developing necessary vaccines, testing and treatment for their citizens. For too long, access to healthcare has depended on the charity of rich countries which is neither predictable or sufficient. Justice requires ensuring countries must be able to protect the health and well-being of their own citizens especially in times of crisis. We must shift from an economy of exclusion to one that prioritizes life.

We Continue Putting People over Profits

Domestically, the appetite for COVID-19 prevention measures may be waning, but the disease is here to stay. We must not ignore it, and we must urge our leaders to diminish its ability to compromise health and take lives domestically and globally. Affordable access to shots, therapeutics, testing, and boosters are key as we continue to battle COVID-19 and any variants that emerge. It’s hard to accomplish this goal when the government funding that ushered us into our “new normal” is drying up.

Globally, even if the TRIPS waiver is granted, money will be needed to produce, transport, and administer the vaccine. Congress should act to address our obligation to take care of people at home and abroad in the supplemental COVID funding bill. Pfizer, Moderna, and other biopharmaceutical companies that maintain a monopoly on innovations created with public funds, cannot produce enough doses on their own to vaccinate the world. By protecting their monopoly, they deny billions of people access to vaccinations.

On May 12, 2022, the second Global COVID-19 Summit was held. Its co-hosts, the United States, Belize, Germany, Indonesia, and Senegal, called for global researchers, heads of states, philanthropic executives, and health experts to explore solutions — and make commitments — to “vaccinate the world, save lives now, and build better health security — for everyone, everywhere.” At the onset of the Summit, President Biden announced a major commitment to vaccinating the world’s lower-income citizens.

NETWORK believes this action, combined with the renewed and increased financial support from other global leaders in the West has the potential to be a game changer for global health and lives around the world. Through the National Institutes of Health, the United States has licensed 11 COVID-19 research tools and early-stage vaccine and diagnostic candidates to the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) so that global manufacturers can use these technologies for the potential development of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics to benefit people living in low- and middle-income countries.

According to the White House, new financial commitments were made at the Summit that totaled more than $3 billion in new funding above and beyond pledges made to date in 2022. This includes over $2 billion for immediate COVID-19 response and $962 million in commitments toward a new pandemic preparedness and global health security fund at the
World Bank.

See the White House’s account of global commitments made during the summit.

We know that the solution to COVID-19 lies in affordable and widespread access to vaccines, testing and therapeutics. We will continue raising our voices to the White House to oppose Big Pharma’s efforts to exacerbate vaccine inequity in the name of profit. We will continue to urge Congress to pass a supplemental funding bill that prioritizes funding for ongoing domestic and international COVID-19 needs; and we call on President Biden to continue working for an effective TRIPS waiver that makes lifesaving technology available to all.

Faith-based Organizations Call for End of Year Health Care Policy for Vulnerable Communities

Faith-based Organizations Call for an End-of-Year Funding Package that Prioritizes Health Care for Vulnerable Communities

Laura Peralta-Schulte
December 6, 2022

Dear Member of Congress,

The undersigned organizations from the Washington Interreligious Staff Community (WISC) Health Care Working Group write to urge you to advance an end-of-year funding package that prioritizes health care for vulnerable communities. We are grateful for significant healthcare advancements made since the beginning of the 117th Congress to expand healthcare and create greater health equity, and we believe Congress must take further action to better protect the health and economic security of vulnerable populations.

Guided by the belief that healthcare is a fundamental human right, our organizations work each day to protect existing domestic healthcare programs and increase access to quality, affordable, and equitable health care. Our diverse faith traditions compel us to protect the most vulnerable among us – including individuals in rural areas, low-income people, People of Color, Indigenous people, immigrants, people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, and seniors and children. Many populations, including those listed above, face unique barriers to obtaining comprehensive care and continue to experience significant healthcare disparities.

We urge Congress to pass an end-of-year funding package that includes the following provisions:

Promote Continuous and Expanded Medicaid and CHIP Coverage

Over the past three years, the uninsured rate in the United States has reached a record low and
Medicaid and CHIP enrollment has increased, in part due to continuous coverage requirements implemented under the COVID-19 public health emergency. Given that the public health emergency will likely expire in the coming months, however, these continuous coverage requirements will also cease. Between 5 and 14 million people are expected to lose coverage, and people with disabilities, individuals with limited English proficiency, and those who moved since the pandemic began are at the greatest risk.

Provide 12 Months of Continuous Eligibility for Adults and Children

Because each state manages Medicaid and CHIP programs within federal guidelines, there is
tremendous variation in the scope of services available across the United States. Congress must heed the lessons of recent years and guarantee 12 months of continuous eligibility for adults and children through Medicaid and CHIP to avoid large scale disruption of coverage. Continuous eligibility for children and adults in Medicaid and CHIP ensures that people will remain eligible for Medicaid coverage or for CHIP for a one-year period, regardless of changes in their family’s income. While all vulnerable populations would benefit from this action, there are long-term benefits for children as those with health coverage are more likely to show improved health, lower rates of disability, and greater financial security in adulthood. By guaranteeing continuous Medicaid or CHIP eligibility in every state, Congress can advance health equity by promoting continuity of treatment for low-income individuals who
experience disproportionate rates of health disparities.

Provide 12 Months of Postpartum Coverage

Providing continuous Medicaid coverage for one year postpartum is critical to improving maternal and child health outcomes. While Medicaid finances roughly 40 percent of births in the United States, including 59 percent of births to Hispanic mothers and 65 percent of births to Black mothers, federal law only requires states to continue covering these mothers for 60 days postpartum. One-third of pregnancy-related deaths occur postpartum, including almost 12 percent that occur in the late postpartum period (between 43 and 365 days postpartum). Even as the American Rescue Plan Act allowed states to extend coverage via a state plan amendment, only half of states have or are planning to do so. Yet the need for postpartum medical care does not end after two months; in fact, over 70 percent of postpartum spending occurs between three and twelve months after delivery, as continuous postpartum care is critical for detecting postpartum depression, birth-related complications, and other
chronic conditions. Congress must provide 12 months of postpartum coverage to ensure that mothers can continue accessing life-saving care beyond 60 days.

Increase Medicaid Funding to the U.S. Territories

Due to limitations in the funding statute, Medicaid programs in the territories operate differently than Medicaid programs in the states. First, although federal funding covers a specified share of each state’s Medicaid spending, the territories receive federal funding via temporary fixed block grants that are inadequate to meet their needs. Second, while the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) in the states is tied to per capita income, the FMAP in the territories is fixed at artificially low levels, even as per capita income is lower than the poorest states.

As a result of these unequal funding structures, the territories face a looming Medicaid cliff, and even recent improvements to the territories’ Medicaid programs are in jeopardy. While a recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services interpretation determined that future allotments in Puerto Rico (which is still recovering from Hurricane Fiona) should increase from $400 million to $3 billion, Congress is facing pressure to reverse that interpretation, which would cause the 2023 allotment to plummet. Similarly, although the 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act temporarily increased the FMAP from 55 percent to 76 percent for Puerto Rico and 83 percent for Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, the FMAPs will revert to 55 percent on December 16 absent Congressional action. Given that most residents in the territories are People of Color, this is a racial
justice issue.

Congress must act swiftly to avert the funding cliff. Most urgently, Congress should maintain the CMS interpretation on Puerto Rico, increase the block grant allotments for all territories, and maintain or increase the federal matching rates to align with the states. In the long term, Congress must reform the funding structure for the territories’ Medicaid programs to ensure they can operate at parity with state Medicaid programs.

Addressing the Black Maternal Health Crisis

Congress must also take bold action to address the maternal health crisis that disproportionately affects Communities of Color. Black mothers in the United States three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, while Hispanic, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander people experience disproportionate mortality and morbidity rates as well. To address these disparities, Congress must include the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act (S.346/H.R.959) in end of the year legislation. This package invests in social determinants of health, funds community-based organizations seeking to improve maternal health outcomes, and expands and diversifies the perinatal workforce.

Increase COVID-19 Funding

While the United States has made significant progress since the beginning of COVID-19, the virus poses an ongoing danger to the country. Each day, the United States still experiences hundreds of deaths and thousands of new hospitalizations and reported cases. Long COVID remains a significant threat, already affecting 16 million U.S. adults and has forcing up to 4 million people out of the workforce. As public health protections fade and individual protective measures prove insufficient, the sustained spread places everyone (especially people with disabilities, immunocompromised people, and the elderly) at significant risk.

Continued harm from COVID-19 is not inevitable, and Congress must act swiftly to increase COVID-19 funding. The federal government has already begun to run out of money to continue its pandemic response, resulting in a dramatic contraction in free rapid tests, personal protective equipment, and treatments. The lack of funding has also limited the federal government’s ability to raise awareness about bivalent boosters, monitor cases, and conduct research into new vaccines and treatments.

Three years into the pandemic, we cannot accept this devastation as our new normal. As the United States faces a projected winter surge, and as pediatric emergency rooms and intensive care units become overrun due to RSV and flu, Congress must act quickly to mitigate COVID-19 and ensure that hospitals remain functional. We urge Congress to provide robust funding and partner with federal, state, and local officials to confront the ongoing pandemic.

Conclusion

Health inequities in the United States are the result of a long history of systemic racism, ableism, classism, and other forms of oppression. All our faiths call us to end these stark divides and ensure that everyone has access to quality, affordable, and equitable medical care. Congress must work to promote continuous and expanded Medicaid coverage, increase Medicaid funding to the territories, address the Black maternal health crisis, and increase COVID-19 funding, we will fail to eliminate the inequities that have plagued the United States for far too long. We urge you to support a year-end funding package that advances these priorities.

Sincerely,
Alliance of Baptists
American Muslim Health Professionals
Bread for the World
Church and Society Team, Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church
Church World Service
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
Friends Committee on National Legislation
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Council of Jewish Women
National Latino Evangelical Coalition
Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team
Sojourners
The Episcopal Church
The Presbyterian Church (USA): Washington Office of Public Witness & Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations
The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
Union for Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice
United Church of Christ

Download the Letter Here

New Agreement Would Advance Healthcare, Tax Justice, and Climate Protections

New Agreement Would Advance Healthcare, Tax Justice, and Climate Protections

Laura Peralta-Schulte
August 1, 2022

On Wednesday, July 27, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) issued a joint statement announcing an agreement on moving the fiscal year 2022 budget reconciliation process forward. This announcement was welcome after months of ups and downs in Senate negotiations since the House passed its budget reconciliation package last fall.

This new bill—the Inflation Reduction Act—addresses tax reform, prescription drug reform and healthcare costs, as well as climate change. If passed, this bill would be a huge accomplishment by beginning to require the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes, while tackling the long-standing crises of healthcare costs and climate change.

Key tax provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act include:

  • $313 billion in revenue raised from a 15% corporate minimum tax. This is critical to ensure that wealthy corporations pay taxes.
  • $124 billion in revenue raised from better IRS tax enforcement. This provides the IRS with money to improve customer service systems as well as ensuring the wealthy pay what they owe.
  • $14 billion in revenue raised from closing the carried interest loophole.

Key healthcare provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act include:

  • Prescription Drug Pricing: The legislation empowers Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices directly, ensuring that seniors get better deals on their medications, and caps Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs for drugs at $2,000 per year.
  • ACA Premium Tax Credits: The Inflation Reduction Act extends enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits for the next three years to enable working families and individuals support to pay for insurance through the exchange.

Key climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act include:

  • Incentives for Consumers to Go Green: The legislation provides money for home energy rebates, consumer tax credits for energy-efficient homes and vehicles, and grants to make affordable housing more energy efficient. These measures would help reduce energy costs for families by more than 10% on average.

Unfortunately, this package leaves out high-level policy priorities for us at NETWORK including Medicaid expansion, paid leave, funding for affordable housing, expanding the Child Tax Credit, and more. However, given the political and time constraints, this bill will do a lot to advance economic justice and address other problems in healthcare and climate.

No Republican Senators support this bill, and one Senator, Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), is the only Democratic member who has not yet expressed her full support for the bill. Democrats need all 50 members of their caucus to vote “yes” to pass the legislation. Senate Democratic leadership is planning a vote on this package later this week.

Tell Congress to Close the Medicare Coverage Gap and Protect Black Mothers and Babies and essential workers

Email Congress to Close the Medicare Coverage Gap and Save Lives

TELL CONGRESS: CLOSE THE MEDICAID COVERAGE GAP

Healthcare is a human rightOver 2 million low-income adults living near the poverty line in 12 states don’t have health insurance. They earn less than $12,880 per year – too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid, but not enough for Affordable Care Act subsidies. Congress needs to finish the ACA and close the Medicaid Coverage gap in budget reconciliation so that people with limited financial resources can live healthier lives.

 

Email Congress and let them know: budget reconciliation must close the Medicaid coverage gap.

Sr. Simone receives Medal of Freedom from President Biden

Watch Sr. Simone receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Watch Sister Simone receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom  

Mary J. Novak
July 7, 2022

On July 7, 2022, President Joe Biden awarded Sister Simone Campbell, SSS and 16 other extraordinary Americans with our country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. While leading NETWORK from 2004 to 2021, Sister Simone propelled NETWORK’s mission of political ministry into the national spotlight with her committed advocacy for justice.   

President Biden said that Sister Simone and her fellow medal recipients “embody the soul of the nation — hard work, perseverance, and faith,” and I strongly agree. It is people like Sister Simone and each of you — advocates for justice, participating in politics to dismantle systemic racism and advance the common good — who give me hope.  

As we witness rising tension and growing threats to our democracy, it is more important than ever to lobby for federal policies that dismantle systemic racism and create a country where all people can thrive. 

SUPPORT NETWORK

The Dobbs Decision and NETWORK’s Continued Work for Racial and Economic Justice

The Dobbs Decision and NETWORK’s Continued Work for Racial and Economic Justice

Joan F. Neal, Mary J. Novak, and Sr. Erin Zubal, OSU
June 24, 2022

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization will have deep ramifications in people’s lives, many of whom may not even realize it yet. Undoing nearly half a century of precedent and jurisprudence will undoubtedly have a disorienting and destabilizing impact on our laws, the provision of maternal health care, and our already fraught civil discourse. 

At NETWORK, we speak from five decades of women-led, person-centered advocacy and hundreds of encounters with women, families, and communities across the country that have been disinvested in, and marginalized by, our systems and structures. As a Catholic organization with 50 years of political ministry in a pluralistic democracy, we recognize the role and distinction of the moral and legal questions at issue here.   

This Supreme Court decision leaves NETWORK with the following questions from our perspective of pursuing justice and the common good through federal policy:  

  • Will state and federal legislatures now introduce and pass a groundswell of policies to offer a robust social safety net of resources for all women and families that allow everyone to thrive?  
  • Are religious leaders prepared to allocate resources through the largesse of their institutions and donors to ensure that any gaps in the social safety net are filled?  
  • Will this decision lead to an increase in maternal mortality for the people who are already the most lacking in access to resources in our society, especially women living in rural, low-income communities and women of color?   
  • Will state legislatures continue to pass invasive and punitive measures that create a culture of surveillance and criminalization of women, including those experiencing ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage?   
  • Will this decision create a chilling effect among medical providers, making them hesitant or unable to provide life-saving care to patients suffering conditions such as ectopic pregnancy or hemorrhaging after a miscarriage?  

With polarization and extremist violence growing in our country, people of faith have a moral duty to work toward the common good across a spectrum of issues. Catholic teaching states that a focus on one moral priority cannot lead to “dismissing or ignoring other serious threats to human life and dignity” (“Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” #29).   

For anyone who has made ending federal protections for abortion the singular focus of their political activity, we at NETWORK urge you to expand your focus to include the economic realities of women and families. Now is the time to listen to the experience of women, particularly women living in rural, low-income communities and women of color. 

Founded by Catholic Sisters and imbued with their charisms, NETWORK educates, organizes, and lobbies to create a society that promotes justice and the dignity of all. We invite all who share our passion for justice to work with us to create a more just, equitable, and inclusive future.  

 Joan F. Neal is NETWORK’s deputy executive director and chief equity officer. Mary J. Novak is NETWORK’s executive director. Sr. Erin Zubal, OSU, is an Ursuline Sister of Cleveland and NETWORK’s chief of staff. 

Black Maternal Health Week

Ending the Black Maternal Health Crisis Is a Moral Imperative

Ending the Black Maternal Health Crisis Is a Moral Imperative

Joan F. Neal
April 15, 2022

This week marks the five-year anniversary of Black Maternal Health Week in the United States. During Black Maternal Health Week, advocates and elected officials build community and draw awareness toward the maternal mortality epidemic that is sweeping our nation. At NETWORK, we believe that access to quality, affordable health care is a fundamental human right. It is our moral responsibility as Catholics to ensure accessible health care for all and eliminate racial and economic health disparities. As Representative Lauren Underwood (IL-14) who is the co-chair and co-founder of the Black Maternal Health Caucus stated, “This work is deeply personal” during an interfaith event NETWORK helped to organize.

Statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in February revealed that the Black maternal mortality crisis has only gotten worse. The data shows that the mortality rate for Black women rose by 26 percent in 2020—a rate three times greater than that of white women. In an interfaith event last month, Representative Alma Adams (NC-12) said, “Overlooking the pain of Black women in health care results from implicit bias and racism.” The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, especially for birthing people of color. This is unjust and sinful.

On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris announced a historic call to action to improve lives and health outcomes for birthing people, especially people of color, across the country. The Biden-Harris administration made a series of announcements that will work toward health equity including extending Medicaid and CHIP coverage for a full year after pregnancy in 11 additional states, and proposing “Birthing-Friendly” hospital designations to make improvements in maternal health outcomes. These announcements, along with the 12 key bills in the Momnibus Act, are vital steps forward to invest in maternal health and dismantle systemic racism in our health care systems.

Black mothers should not fear for their lives or their infant’s life while giving birth. As Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-7) said during Wednesday’s Black Maternal Health Week event, “Birthing while Black should not be a death sentence.” NETWORK is proud to see the work done by the Biden-Harris administration to achieve healthcare equity for Black mothers, and continually supports the work of the Black Maternal Health Caucus to pass the Momnibus. With ongoing advocacy and a commitment to Build Anew, we can end the Black Maternal Mortality crisis in the United States. And we should do that.