John,

Congress is working around the clock to pass an end-of-year spending package before they adjourn for the holidays. When they return in January with a divided Congress, it will be significantly harder to pass legislation to support critical programs for vulnerable communities.

Congress must act now to protect continuous Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage in any end-of-year legislation. This coverage includes 12 months of continuous eligibility for adults and children, 12 month postpartum coverage and other provisions to improve maternal and child health outcomes, and increased Medicaid funding for U.S. territories including Puerto Rico.

Send a message directly to Congress demanding they protect and expand continuous health coverage for children and low-income communities today!

Over the last three years, as a result of rule changes made during the COVID-19 public health emergency, the uninsured rate in the United States reached a record low as enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP increased.

This was, in part, due to “continuous coverage requirements,” which will end when the public health emergency ends, unless Congress acts. If continuous coverage ends, a federal report estimates 15 million people are expected to lose coverage―with people with disabilities, low income, people of color, limited English proficiency, and those who have moved since the pandemic began at the greatest risk.¹ Millions of them will remain eligible, but will lose coverage because they cannot jump through the bureaucratic hoops to remain enrolled―these will very disproportionately be people of color. Congress can protect people from losing their health care just because of paperwork.  

Right now, Medicaid finances roughly 40% of births in the U.S., including 59% of births of Hispanic mothers and 65% of births to Black mothers. However, federal law only requires states to continue covering mothers for 60 days postpartum. 12 months of continuous coverage is critical to accessing life-saving care for mothers and children alike. This is why Congress must include the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act (S.346 and H.R.959) in the year-end legislation.

Millions of people will lose health care coverage if Congress doesn’t act now to extend continuous coverage for Medicaid and CHIP. At a time of drastic increases in respiratory infections of adults and young children, Congress must do everything in its power to protect the most vulnerable before they adjourn for the holidays. Tell your members of Congress to act quickly to protect Medicaid and CHIP!

While Puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricane Fiona and previous weather disasters, their Medicaid funding is about to run out. On December 16, if Congress does not act, the already-low federal payment for Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program will drop steeply. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have determined that future allotments for Puerto Rico should increase from $400 million to $3 billion. Congress is facing pressure to reject CMS’s recommendation; we have to make sure members of Congress know their constituents care about protecting our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico.

Thank you for all you do to advocate for expanded health care coverage,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/60f0ac74ee06eb578d30b0f39ac94323/aspe-end-mcaid-continuous-coverage.pdf