John,

56 years ago today, Medicare and Medicaid were enacted, guaranteeing the right to basic health care services to older Americans and the poor. That was just the beginning.

Our champions in Congress, including Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders, are fighting to expand Medicare and Medicaid through budget reconciliation.

Advances we’re fighting for:

• add vision, hearing and dental to Medicare benefits
• cover health care for people denied Medicaid by a dozen states
• expand home care for the aging and people with disabilities while increasing pay for home care workers
• place a cap on out-of-pocket health care expenses for Medicare recipients
• allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, which would benefit everyone, not just those on Medicare

Today, on the 56th anniversary of the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid, can you chip in $56, or whatever you can afford, to fight to expand healthcare coverage to millions more Americans?

In addition to lowering costs and expanding the services Medicare covers, CHN is fighting to close the Medicaid coverage gap. Together, we must make sure people left out of the Medicaid expansion provided by the Affordable Care Act have the opportunity to get Medicaid, and secure the health care they desperately need.

Congress can close the Medicaid coverage gap through budget reconciliation, which requires only a simple majority vote in the Senate. By providing coverage in the 12 remaining states, more than 2.2 million poor Americans would obtain the health coverage they need.

Further, the $400 billion expansion of Medicaid Home and Community Based Services is crucial to increase pay to the care workforce—who are largely women, immigrants and people of color—and to keep the aging and people with disabilities in their homes and active in their communities.

Donate $5.60, $56 or whatever you can afford to fight to strengthen and expand Medicare and Medicaid and bring health care coverage to millions more Americans.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:

We must act to expand Medicaid for millions of Americans. Thank you for all you do to fight for families, marginalized people and communities.

Thank you for all you do to fight for our shared priorities.

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs