It’s a Matter of Life and Death: Insurers Must Cover Language Services

A 14-year-old girl accompanies her Somali-speaking father to his medical appointment. Because the clinic doesn’t provide an interpreter, the girl has to inform her own father than he has been diagnosed with cancer. She remains his interpreter through eight years of treatment, sometimes hiding information to protect him from the bad news. A group ofContinue reading “It’s a Matter of Life and Death: Insurers Must Cover Language Services”

Defending Planned Parenthood is Essential for the Whole Progressive Movement

(This opinion by LeeAnn Hall was originally published in Common Dreams) Planned Parenthood is an easy target for rage and righteousness as we saw too plainly in the shootings in Colorado Springs late last month. The ongoing conservative attack on Planned Parenthood funding depends on the same extreme rhetoric but, it’s also part of aContinue reading “Defending Planned Parenthood is Essential for the Whole Progressive Movement”

Health Insurance Is Great – Navigators Needed to Help People Use It

This spring, Adriann Barboa and her colleagues at Strong Families New Mexico went on a five-county tour, fanning out across the state to share findings from the Breaking Barriers study they’d conducted on progress under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The report is part of a ten-state series by the Alliance for a Just Society.Continue reading “Health Insurance Is Great – Navigators Needed to Help People Use It”

LeeAnn Hall’s Statement on King v. Burwell (with Fred Azcarate and George Goehl)

Today is a major victory: the Supreme Court rejected King v. Burwell, an attack against the Affordable Care Act that attempted to deny quality health care to millions of people in the United States. Together with Fred Azcarate, executive director of US Action and George Goehl, executive director of National People’s Action, I would like toContinue reading “LeeAnn Hall’s Statement on King v. Burwell (with Fred Azcarate and George Goehl)”

Report: Racial Health Disparities Magnified in California Under ACA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Contact: Kathy Mulady, communications director kathy@allianceforajustsociety.org (206) 992-8787 Breaking Barriers to Health Care Access in California “Obamacare didn’t cause the widespread racial disparities we found, but neither did it solve them.” More Californians than ever before have health insurance, but coverage isn’t care, and the Affordable Care ActContinue reading “Report: Racial Health Disparities Magnified in California Under ACA”

“Breaking Barriers” Research Uncovers Disparities in Health Care Access

As more families get health insurance, it’s becoming clear that despite the many advances of the Affordable Care Act, we must do more to fundamentally change our health care system. The doors of quality health care are still closed to many people of color, families in rural communities, the poor, and those with language and culturalContinue reading ““Breaking Barriers” Research Uncovers Disparities in Health Care Access”

A Question for Lawmakers Who Backtrack on Expanded Health Coverage: Seriously?

With two weeks left in the second enrollment period for Affordable Care Act health coverage, marketplace enrollment is projected to reach between 9 million and 9.9 million people this year. That’s a net increase of between 2 and 3 million people gaining coverage through the marketplaces. Millions more will gain coverage through Medicaid expansion. That’sContinue reading “A Question for Lawmakers Who Backtrack on Expanded Health Coverage: Seriously?”

Legislators Who Block Medicaid Expansion Are Stiffing Veterans Out of Health Care

** This article by LeeAnn Hall  first appeared in Huffington Post ** The scandal over long wait times for veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs health system has grabbed a lot of headlines and elicited a lot of righteous anger – as it should. America’s veterans deserve so much better. But as Ezra KleinContinue reading “Legislators Who Block Medicaid Expansion Are Stiffing Veterans Out of Health Care”

After Obamacare Enrollment, Three Critical Steps

This article by LeeAnn Hall, first appeared in Colorlines.com More than 7.1 million people have obtained health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, despite the early confusion and glitches with the computer system. In addition, 6.3 million are approved for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and an estimated 3 million more young peopleContinue reading “After Obamacare Enrollment, Three Critical Steps”

Affordable Care Act Reports are Missing Data on Enrollment by Race and Ethnicity

For Immediate Release: February 17, 2014 Contact: Kathy Mulady Communications Director Kathy@allianceforajustsociety.org   Affordable Care Act Reports are Missing Data on Enrollment by Race and Ethnicity The Affordable Care Act has great potential to shrink the racial gap in health coverage.  But we can’t tell how it’s doing without data on race and ethnicity. AgainContinue reading “Affordable Care Act Reports are Missing Data on Enrollment by Race and Ethnicity”