Category: News Releases

CHIP renewal is overdue good news for parents of 85,000 Alabama children on ALL Kids

By Chris Sanders

Arise Citizens’ Policy Project policy director Jim Carnes issued the following statement Monday, Jan. 22, 2018, in response to the U.S. Senate’s vote to renew federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years:

“The parents of more than 85,000 children with ALL Kids coverage finally received some overdue good news today: Their kids aren’t about to lose health insurance. Congress’ agreement to renew CHIP funding for six years will allow ALL Kids to avoid an enrollment freeze and continue providing life-saving coverage for Alabama children.

“Families across Alabama deserve to breathe a sigh of relief, but it never should have come to this. CHIP funding deserved a quick, straightforward renewal before it expired nearly four months ago. Delaying the renewal and tying it to other important issues was unnecessary and irresponsible.

“A big untold story is the stress that Congress’ inaction placed on millions of hard-working parents across the country who lost the certainty that their children would be able to get the health care they needed. Instead of protecting children’s health coverage, congressional leaders spent month after month trying to undermine the Affordable Care Act. Then they focused on passing a tax bill that disproportionately benefited rich people and large corporations.

“CHIP, known as ALL Kids in Alabama, is a proven success story that played a big part in cutting our state’s uninsured rate for children from 20 percent to just 2.4 percent over the last two decades. Other states have seen similar improvements.

“Letting CHIP funding expire and remain in doubt for months was an attack on families. Congress should make sure this sad chapter can’t be repeated. It’s time to fund CHIP permanently and guarantee that all children can receive the health care they need to grow and thrive.”

Alabamians must keep urging Congress to protect health care

By Chris Sanders

Arise Citizens’ Policy Project policy director Jim Carnes issued the following statement Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, after the U.S. House approved a resolution that would make it easier for Congress to repeal portions of the Affordable Care Act:

“Protecting access to quality, affordable health care is more important than ever. Congress voted this week to make it easier to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, but that wasn’t the end of this debate. Now comes the hard work of ensuring that tens of millions of Americans don’t lose their health coverage and important consumer protections in the process.

“The Affordable Care Act has helped millions of people and saved thousands of lives across Alabama. Nearly 200,000 Alabamians have gained insurance through the ACA, and the vast majority of them receive tax credits to make their coverage more affordable. About 2 million Alabamians have pre-existing conditions that would have made it hard or impossible for them to get full coverage before the ACA lifted coverage caps and guaranteed their access to insurance. And the ACA has significantly reduced the number of uninsured young Alabamians by allowing 35,000 of them to remain on their parents’ plans until age 26.

“We urge Alabamians to continue pressuring their members of Congress not to repeal the Affordable Care Act without an immediate replacement that offers comparable coverage and consumer protections. ‘Repeal and delay’ is a dangerous and unacceptable path.”

Children’s health care takes a back seat as Congress rushes to cut taxes for corporations, wealthy people

By Chris Sanders

Arise Citizens’ Policy Project executive director Kimble Forrister issued the following statement Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017, in response to Congress’ passage of a tax bill that disproportionately benefits rich people and corporations:

“Congress’ misplaced priorities were on clear display today. Nearly 84,000 Alabama children are about to lose their ALL Kids coverage because lawmakers allowed federal funding for it to expire months ago. But instead of solving that problem, Congress hurried to create a new one by increasing the deficit to give huge tax cuts to big corporations and wealthy people.

“This tax plan is a massive giveaway to the rich at the expense of everyday Americans. Over time, it will raise taxes on tens of millions of families at low and middle incomes. It will increase health insurance premiums for millions of people and leave millions more uninsured in exchange for permanent tax cuts for big corporations. And it will drive up the federal deficit, setting the stage for calls to cut Medicare, Medicaid, education, food assistance and other vital services next year.

“Struggling families shouldn’t have to pay for tax cuts for rich people. And tens of thousands of Alabama families can’t afford for Congress to wait any longer to renew federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Lawmakers across Alabama and across the country should commit now to renew CHIP funding before a single child loses coverage and to reject budget cuts that would make it harder for families to make ends meet.”

Congress’ shameful neglect puts health coverage at risk for 84,000 Alabama children on ALL Kids

By Chris Sanders

Arise Citizens’ Policy Project policy director Jim Carnes issued the following statement Monday, Dec. 18, 2017, in response to the announcement of ALL Kids’ pending termination:

“Tens of thousands of Alabama working families learned today – one week before Christmas – that their children will lose health insurance Feb. 1 if Congress continues to delay funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), known here as ALL Kids. Alabama officials had been holding their breath since Congress failed to reauthorize CHIP funding by Sept. 30. They were hoping reserve funds could tide the coverage over for a few months – surely enough time for Congress to act. But today those hopes were dashed.

“ALL Kids’ announcement that it would stop enrolling children in new coverage on Jan. 1 and end the program entirely a month later strikes a painful blow not only to 84,000 ALL Kids children and their families but also to Alabama’s nationally praised gains in children’s health coverage. In the two decades since ALL Kids became the first state CHIP authorized by Congress, our uninsured rate for children has dropped from 20 percent to 2.4 percent. That record has earned Alabama’s program national recognition as the ‘Star of the South.’

“Ending ALL Kids also places a strain on Alabama’s threadbare General Fund. CHIP funds now pay for the health care of around 75,000 children enrolled in Medicaid, who will continue to receive coverage but at new cost to the state.

“In this shameful development, Congress has turned children’s health care – a vital part of family well-being – into a political football. Toying with children’s coverage creates a health hazard in its own right – and an entirely preventable one. Alabama’s hard decision today is a sign of things to come as other states face the grim realities of Congress’ failure to address children’s health needs. Our lawmakers must come to their senses and act now. Every wasted day puts children’s health in greater danger.”

Congress’ tax plan is still a bad deal for everyday Alabamians

By Chris Sanders

Arise Citizens’ Policy Project policy director Jim Carnes issued the following statement Friday, Dec. 15, 2017, in response to the release of Congress’ revised tax bill:

“At its core, Congress’ tax plan is a massive giveaway to huge corporations and wealthy people at the expense of working families. This bill is bad for everyday Alabamians, and no amount of tinkering at the edges can change that.

“This bill still will raise taxes on tens of millions of Americans at low and middle incomes, while handing enormous tax breaks to the top 1 percent. It still will leave millions more Americans with no health insurance in exchange for permanent tax cuts for big corporations. And it still will drive up the federal deficit, which congressional leaders have already indicated they will use to justify calls for cutting Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other vital services next year.

“This tax plan is an ill-conceived rush job, and it’s a raw deal for families across Alabama and across the country. Congress should reject this bill and focus on closing tax loopholes and investing in education, health care, transportation and other services that help struggling families get ahead.”

U.S. Senate tax plan is a windfall for the wealthy at the expense of everyday families

By Chris Sanders

Arise Citizens’ Policy Project policy director Jim Carnes issued the following statement Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, in response to passage of the U.S. Senate tax bill:

“The U.S. Senate tax plan is a huge giveaway to wealthy households and big corporations, and working families across Alabama and across the country will pay the price for it. Tens of millions of Americans at low and middle incomes will face tax increases, while the top 1 percent will get enormous tax breaks that would make them even richer.

“The Senate plan will leave 13 million more Americans without health insurance in exchange for even larger corporate tax cuts. It also will fuel a soaring federal deficit, which many in Congress likely will try to use as an excuse to cut Medicare, Medicaid, education, housing and other essential services. Those cuts would make it even tougher for everyday Alabamians to make ends meet.

“It’s no wonder Congress shoved this bill through without hearings or extended debate: It’s a raw deal for American families. Small changes can’t fix that problem. Congress should reject this plan and focus instead on closing tax loopholes and investing in education, health care, transportation and other vital services that help struggling families get ahead.”

Alabama may lose big if 2020 Census isn’t properly funded, study finds

By Chris Sanders

The results of the 2020 Census will help guide the allocation of more than $7.5 billion in federal funding for Alabama each year. But an undercount of the state’s population could put a huge amount of that support at risk over the next decade, according to “Counting for Dollars 2020,” a new study led by Professor Andrew Reamer of George Washington University (GWU).

Arise Citizens’ Policy Project (ACPP) has teamed with the Census Project to call on Alabamians to demand that Congress provide full Census funding in the 2018 federal budget to help ensure the state’s population is properly counted in 2020.

“Alabama can’t afford to be undercounted in the upcoming Census,” ACPP executive director Kimble Forrister said. “Investments in Medicaid, housing and transportation make Alabama a better place to live and work, and we need to ensure our state doesn’t get shortchanged on the federal funding that helps make those services possible.”

The GWU report contains a 50-state listing of funds that are directed to state and local governments based on Census data. The list includes money for vital services such as health care, Head Start, roads and highways, school lunch programs and housing assistance. A summary of the national findings calculated $589.7 billion in Census-directed funding from 16 federal programs in 2015.

Phil Sparks of the Census Project said Alabama had much to lose from a poorly planned Census count. “The state has a lot at stake in this debate,” Sparks said. “All Alabamiansbenefit from a high-quality, complete and fair Census.”

While the study focused on 16 federal programs, five account for most federal funding to Alabama: Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, Medicare Part B, HUD Section 8 Housing Vouchers, and Department of Transportation Highway Planning and Construction Funds.

“The fair and equitable distribution of federal financial assistance to state and local governments and households will depend on the accuracy of the 2020 Census,” Reamer said.

Detailed findings on each of the 16 programs the group has researched can be found below:

If you’re rich, the House GOP tax plan is great for you. If not? Not so much

By Chris Sanders

The richest 1 percent of Alabamians would get large tax cuts that would grow even larger over the next decade under U.S. House Republicans’ tax plan, according to projections released Monday, Nov. 6, 2017, by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, nearly one in five Alabamians – including one in four middle-income taxpayers – would pay higher taxes by 2027 under the GOP plan, ITEP finds.

The plan would add at least $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit, setting the stage for cuts to education, health care and other services, Arise Citizens’ Policy Project executive director Kimble Forrister said.

“These tax cuts would hurt working families and the economy while giving even more money to people who are already wealthy,” Forrister said. “This plan would pave the way for deep cuts to federal funding for Medicaid, education, housing, transportation and other services that help everyday Alabamians get ahead. That’s a harmful path, and Congress should turn away from it.”

Key Alabama findings from ITEP’s study of the GOP tax plan include:

  • The top 1 percent of Alabama earners would receive an average tax cut of $40,990 in 2018. That number would jump to $58,200 by 2027.
  • Nearly one in five Alabamians (18 percent) would pay higher taxes by 2027 under the plan, including 25 percent of middle-income taxpayers.
  • Just 10 percent of the state’s total tax cuts in 2027 would go to the three in five Alabamians who would have incomes of less than $80,090 a year. Their average tax cut would shrink from $320 in 2018 to $180 in 2027.

“Any gains that working Alabamians would get from these tax cuts pale in comparison to the harm they’d suffer from cuts to education, health care and other vital public services,” Forrister said. “Congress should reject these tax cuts for the rich and work to build a better future for all of us.”

GOP tax plan would slash taxes for wealthy people while laying groundwork for cuts to education, Medicaid

By Chris Sanders

Arise Citizens’ Policy Project executive director Kimble Forrister issued the following statement Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, in response to the release of U.S. House Republicans’ tax proposal:

“The House Republican tax plan is an expensive new giveaway to wealthy households and big corporations at the expense of working families. It would offer little or nothing to most Alabamians, and it actually would increase taxes for many low- and middle-income folks.

“This plan would add at least $1.5 trillion to the national deficit – and to pay for it, many in Congress will try next year to cut everything from education and Medicaid to food assistance for struggling families. Those cuts would make it even tougher for hard-working Alabamians to make ends meet.

“Taking from those who have the least to give to those who have the most is no way to build a better economy, a better state or a better world. Congress should reject this tax bill and focus instead on closing corporate tax loopholes and investing in education, health care, transportation and other vital services that help struggling families get ahead across Alabama and across the country.”

Executive order could mean soaring health insurance costs for Alabamians with pre-existing conditions

By Chris Sanders

Arise Citizens’ Policy Project policy director Jim Carnes issued the following statement Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017, in response to the White House’s release of a new executive order on health care:

“This executive order risks turning back the clock to the bad old days when many people were priced out of health insurance just because they got sick. Allowing more insurers to sell plans that don’t cover essential health benefits would weaken consumer protections under the guise of promoting consumer choice.

“These changes could open the door to a wave of ‘cheaper’ plans that cost less because they don’t provide as much coverage. By luring in many healthier people, these plans could undermine protections for folks with pre-existing conditions like cancer and diabetes by sending costs soaring for more comprehensive coverage.

“Recent cuts to the Marketplace enrollment period, enrollment assistance and outreach activities already have created unnecessary barriers for consumers and threaten to reverse gains in health coverage and care. Today’s announcement doesn’t immediately change anything, but it sows even more confusion in the health insurance market just as tens of thousands of Alabamians are getting ready to enroll for 2018 coverage. It’s more important than ever for advocates and leaders across our state to ensure that Alabamians have the information they need to find affordable coverage that’s there for them when they need it most.”