On Wednesday, November 17th, the Joint Legislative Executive Committee on Planning for Aging and Disability Issues began their meeting spotlighting the lack of Medicare affordability in Washington. NoHLA Staff Attorney Ann Vining testified about how older adults and people with disabilities in Washington face additional financial challenges when they transition to Medicare. Washington is one...
The Biden Administration is deciding what the federal “public charge” policy should look like. Organizations can join the Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) public comment letter by Wednesday, October 20th. An updated public charge regulation could ensure that future federal administrations cannot weaponize public charge policy against immigrant families. PIF’s comment responds to the Department of...
NoHLA is working to lift up urgent health priorities in Congress considers spending priorities in its upcoming budget package. Working from priorities President Biden outlined in the Build Back Better proposal, Congressional leaders are working to try to pass a major policy package through “reconciliation” – a budget process that requires only a simple majority...
In 1996, Congress constructed an arbitrary five-year barrier preventing immigrants from accessing crucial public benefits that they support with tax dollars. Nearly thirty years later, this cruel policy still keeps many lawfully present Washington immigrants from accessing Medicaid. This month, Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) introduced legislation to restore access to essential health programs Medicaid and...
At NoHLA, we have worked for over two decades to ensure access to all health care, including reproductive care. While Washington has some of the strongest laws protecting reproductive access in the country, we are alarmed at the restrictions facing residents of Texas seeking abortions in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s recent decision...
It’s been an action-packed summer for public health insurance programs! Here at NoHLA, we’ve been celebrating the birthdays of the triple pillars of American health coverage: Medicaid and Medicare, which turned 56 on July 30th, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which turns 24 today! These critical programs provide health insurance coverage to more...
We are heartened to see the federal government recently reaffirmed the long-standing guidance that accessing most public benefits should not have any bearing on immigration status. However, some people continue to fear being considered a “public charge” by the Department of Homeland Security. To help alleviate concerns, NoHLA has partnered with the Protecting Immigrant Families...