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Health Policy

The Health Policy department advances health coverage, health care access and affordability, public health and equity, social determinants of health, and quality and efficiency in health care payment and delivery.

A health care professional measures a worker's blood pressure, 2005. (Getty/Smith Collection/Gado/Centers for Disease Control/CDC Connects)

What We're Doing

Building a strong, thriving, and equitable public health system

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored how essential a robust public health system is to safeguarding America’s health and well-being. We are working to ensure that the system is sustainable, well-funded, and ready to respond to future health threats. We also advance policies to reduce exposure to toxins and improve resilience to other threats, such as extreme weather events, that jeopardize the public’s health—especially in vulnerable communities.

Making health care accessible in ways that people can feel

Health insurance is only valuable if people can use it. We are working to bolster high-quality health coverage for everyone in America. We elevate policy solutions to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, lower out-of-pocket costs, make it easier for people to access their benefits, and close coverage gaps. We are also working to ensure that the Medicare program is meeting the needs of older Americans and are advocating for policies to dramatically lower the costs of prescription drugs.

Tackling high health care prices and combating anticompetitive behavior

America’s exceptional health care spending levels are driven by high prices and market concentration. We elevate policy solutions to combat further health care consolidation and to tamp down on anti-competitive behaviors across the health care industry. This includes shining a light on where money in health care is actually going, where market power lives, and who is profiting along the way. We also promote strong regulatory action to counter corporate greed in service of lowering health care prices for everyone.

Advancing health equity and dismantling structural barriers to health

Our health policy efforts are grounded in advancing health equity. In all that we do, we work to center the experiences and priorities of those with the most at stake—including low-income people, people of color, women, LGBTQI+ people, and people living with disabilities—in our efforts to improve health care access, reduce costs, and create healthy communities and systems that protect people from health threats. We also work in close partnership with others across the organization to advance policy changes that combat the structural barriers that prevent many people in America from equally sharing in health and prosperity.

The Health Policy department advances health coverage, health care access and affordability, public health and equity, social determinants of health, and quality and efficiency in health care payment and delivery.

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How Congress can still get health care subsidies in place for 2026 In the News

How Congress can still get health care subsidies in place for 2026

In an op-ed published by STAT, Emily urges Congress to extend the enhanced tax credits into 2026 while also outlining several other concrete actions the federal government could take to make health care more affordable.

STAT

Emily Gee

How Private Equity and the Financialization of Health Services Can Undermine Access to Sexual and Reproductive Care Report

How Private Equity and the Financialization of Health Services Can Undermine Access to Sexual and Reproductive Care

As firms increasingly invest in OB-GYN practices, fertility clinics, maternity care services, and other health care facilities, policymakers must regulate private equity activity and strengthen oversight of corporate control of health care to preserve Americans’ access to care.

Kierra B. Jones

Open Enrollment, Closed Doors Article
Capitol building reflected in a red ambulance

Open Enrollment, Closed Doors

As Affordable Care Act marketplace open enrollment for 2026 begins on November 1, Republican health policies are reducing access to affordable and comprehensive coverage for low-income Americans, young adults, and the self-employed.

Natasha Murphy

Growing Market Power Among Catholic Hospitals Restrains Access to Reproductive Health Care Report
A hospital bed sits in the birthing room of a catholic hospital.

Growing Market Power Among Catholic Hospitals Restrains Access to Reproductive Health Care

Stronger antitrust enforcement is necessary to prevent reduced access to reproductive health care, including abortion, birth control, and fertility treatments, while safeguarding market competition.

Bailey Sanders, Barak Richman, Kierra B. Jones, 2 More Andrea Ducas, Samuel Doernberg

What the Trump Administration, RFK Jr., and the MAHA Report Got Wrong About Improving Children’s Health Article
A health care provider vaccinates a toddler in the leg as the toddler and his father look on.

What the Trump Administration, RFK Jr., and the MAHA Report Got Wrong About Improving Children’s Health

The Make America Healthy Again Commission’s strategy report underscores the importance of childhood nutrition but casts doubt on proven health strategies; fails to acknowledge the Trump administration’s harm to children’s health; and distracts from effective strategies to prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity and to ensure access to vaccines, food security, and clean air and water.

Jill Rosenthal, Steven Woolf

On Its 60th Anniversary, Medicaid Is Under Attack Article
Demonstrators gather in protest of Medicaid cuts outside of the U.S. Capitol.

On Its 60th Anniversary, Medicaid Is Under Attack

Historic program cuts enacted by congressional Republicans and the Trump administration threaten the health and financial security of millions of Americans.

Andrea Ducas

Plans to test prior authorization in traditional Medicare are deeply troubling In the News

Plans to test prior authorization in traditional Medicare are deeply troubling

In an op-ed published by STAT, Don Berwick and Andrea Ducas discuss a new program from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services called “WISeR” and how it would result in countless eligible seniors being denied coverage.

STAT

Donald Berwick, Andrea Ducas

10 Egregious Things You May Not Know About the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Article
Members of the House walk up the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

10 Egregious Things You May Not Know About the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Congressional Republicans’ radical budget and tax bill includes several less-known provisions that will increase costs, fuel the Trump administration’s overreach, and waste taxpayer dollars.

Colin Seeberger, Andrea Ducas, Natasha Murphy, 9 More Kierra B. Jones, Andrés Argüello, Lily Roberts, Kyle Ross, Michael Sozan, Silva Mathema, Sara Partridge, Paige Shoemaker DeMio, Corey Husak

$1 Trillion in Medicaid Cuts—$1 Trillion in Tax Giveaways for the Richest 1 Percent: The One Big ‘Beautiful’ Bill’s Budget Math Article
A view of the U.S. Capitol during the procedural vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Washington, D.C., July 3, 2025.

$1 Trillion in Medicaid Cuts—$1 Trillion in Tax Giveaways for the Richest 1 Percent: The One Big ‘Beautiful’ Bill’s Budget Math

The congressional Republican bill will cause millions of low-income Americans to lose Medicaid coverage in order to fund tax giveaways for the top 1 percent of households.

Micah Johnson, Andrea Ducas

You Thought Medicare Was Safe? Think Again. In the News

You Thought Medicare Was Safe? Think Again.

In an op-ed published by The Contrarian, Donald Berwick explains how congressional Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill threatens to cut more than $535 billion from Medicaid over the next nine years.

The Contrarian

Donald Berwick

How To Make America Sick Article
A patient waits for radiation treatment.

How To Make America Sick

The Trump administration’s plan to “Make America Healthy Again” will make Americans’ health worse.

Donald Berwick

Trump pledged not to cut Medicare — but his budget bill does just that In the News

Trump pledged not to cut Medicare — but his budget bill does just that

In an op-ed published by MarketWatch, Andrea Ducas explains how President Donald Trump’s budget proposal is breaking his promise not to cut Medicare—with devastating consequences.

MarketWatch

Andrea Ducas

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Would Ravage Regions Won by Donald Trump While Giving Tax Breaks to the Rich Article
The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunset.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Would Ravage Regions Won by Donald Trump While Giving Tax Breaks to the Rich

Cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and clean energy tax credits would devastate people in communities that voted for President Donald Trump.

Kierra B. Jones, Andrea Ducas, Kyle Ross, 6 More Lily Roberts, Lucero Marquez, Jamie Friedman, Colin Seeberger, Kennedy Andara, Andrés Argüello

House Republicans’ Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill Would Make Health Care More Expensive for Americans With Medicare and Other Insurance Article
The sun sets behind the U.S. Capitol building.

House Republicans’ Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill Would Make Health Care More Expensive for Americans With Medicare and Other Insurance

A new Center for American Progress analysis shows how House Republican health care cuts would cost many families with Medicaid, Medicare, ACA marketplace plans, and job-based coverage up to thousands of dollars per year in additional premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket expenses.

Andrés Argüello, Andrea Ducas

New CBO Estimates Confirm Massive Rise in Uncompensated Care Costs Under One Big Beautiful Bill Act Article
A patient has their blood pressure checked at a medical clinic in Grundy, Virginia.

New CBO Estimates Confirm Massive Rise in Uncompensated Care Costs Under One Big Beautiful Bill Act

New projections from the Congressional Budget Office indicate the House-passed tax and budget bill would lead to 16 million people becoming uninsured, resulting in hospitals and other health care providers shouldering an estimated $36 billion in additional uncompensated care costs by 2034.

Andrés Argüello, Andrea Ducas

The Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill’s Health Care Cuts Would Drive Up Uncompensated Care and Threaten Vulnerable Hospitals Article
Staff members remove a sign following a press conference after House passage of the tax and spending bill.

The Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill’s Health Care Cuts Would Drive Up Uncompensated Care and Threaten Vulnerable Hospitals

House Republicans’ proposals would lead to 14 million people becoming uninsured, forcing hospitals and other health care providers to foot the bill of $31 billion in additional uncompensated care costs by 2034.

Andrés Argüello, Andrea Ducas

The Devastating Harms of House Republicans’ Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill by State and Congressional District Article
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) arrives to a House Rules Committee meeting on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act at the U.S. Capitol.

The Devastating Harms of House Republicans’ Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill by State and Congressional District

Estimates for the increase in number of uninsured people by 2034; how many people could lose some or all SNAP benefits; and the number of jobs at risk due to elimination of clean energy tax credits under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

Colin Seeberger, Andrea Ducas, Lily Roberts, 3 More Shannon Baker-Branstetter, Kennedy Andara, Kyle Ross

States Must Lead the Way To Protect Workers From Extreme Heat Article
A traffic warden holding up a stop sign with the sun shining behind him

States Must Lead the Way To Protect Workers From Extreme Heat

In the absence of federal action to protect workers from the rising dangers of exposure to extreme heat on the job, states must take the lead—and can look to existing and proposed standards from other localities for guidance.

Jill Rosenthal, Reema Bzeih

The Collateral Damage of Medicaid Work Requirements Article

The Collateral Damage of Medicaid Work Requirements

Congressional Republicans’ proposed Medicaid work reporting requirements could strip coverage from hundreds of thousands of children, cost up to 449,000 jobs, and lead to more than 15,400 avoidable deaths each year.

Natasha Murphy, Andrea Ducas

Opinion: How Trump’s push to privatize Medicare would be a disaster for seniors In the News

Opinion: How Trump’s push to privatize Medicare would be a disaster for seniors

In an op-ed published by MarketWatch, Andrea Ducas and David Lipschutz explain why the Trump administration wants to make Medicare Advantage the default enrollment for all Medicare recipients and how doing so would devastate Americans' wallets.

MarketWatch

Andrea Ducas, David Lipschutz

How Congressional Republicans’ Health Care Plans Will Spike Health Insurance Premiums for Older Adults Article
The rising sun flares through the windows of the U.S. Capitol Dome.

How Congressional Republicans’ Health Care Plans Will Spike Health Insurance Premiums for Older Adults

Congressional Republican plans to slash Medicaid funding and allow the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits to expire will significantly raise insurance costs for older Americans with marketplace coverage.

Natasha Murphy, Andrea Ducas, Kennedy Andara, 1 More Brian Keyser

CAP Comments on Proposed Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Rule Article

CAP Comments on Proposed Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Rule

The Center for American Progress submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services opposing proposals that would raise health care costs, restrict eligibility, and limit enrollment for Affordable Care Act coverage.

Natasha Murphy

CAP Comments on Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2025 Article

CAP Comments on Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2025

The Center for American Progress submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services supporting proposals to expand access to health care services and improve consumers’ plan shopping and enrollment experiences in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

Natasha Murphy

CAP Comments on CMS Contract Year 2026 Rule Changes Article

CAP Comments on CMS Contract Year 2026 Rule Changes

The Center for American Progress submitted a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on its proposed changes for contract year 2026.

Brian Keyser, Andrea Ducas

CAP Comments on Medicare Advantage Request for Information Article

CAP Comments on Medicare Advantage Request for Information

The Center for American Progress submitted a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on its request for information on Medicare Advantage data.

Andrea Ducas, Brian Keyser

5 Facts About Medicaid Work Requirements Article
A hospital employee gives a tour of a patient room in Hugo, Colorado.

5 Facts About Medicaid Work Requirements

Medicaid work reporting requirements do not promote employment; they create red tape that takes health care away from eligible people, leaving them uninsured.

Natasha Murphy

Research in Ruin: Slashing the NIH Will Stifle Development of Lifesaving Medical Treatments and Harm the Economy Past Event

Research in Ruin: Slashing the NIH Will Stifle Development of Lifesaving Medical Treatments and Harm the Economy

Please join the Center for American Progress for the next in a series of virtual events highlighting the impact that DOGE’s cuts are having on the lives of everyday Americans; this event will focus on how cuts to NIH will limit progress in preventing and curing diseases and damage the economy in the process.

Online only

Medicaid made my brother’s final weeks more peaceful Article

Medicaid made my brother’s final weeks more peaceful

In an op-ed published by NC Newsline, Mia Ives-Rublee describes her family’s experience with Medicaid, which helped provide critical care for her brother during his final months.

NC Newsline

Mia Ives-Rublee

CAP’s Comment on the Department of Labor’s Proposed Regulation on Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Notice in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings Article

CAP’s Comment on the Department of Labor’s Proposed Regulation on Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Notice in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings

The Center for American Progress submitted a comment letter to the Department of Labor on the agency’s proposed rule to protect the rising number of workers who are exposed to extreme heat conditions that cause injury, illness, and death across the United States.

Jill Rosenthal, Rosa Barrientos-Ferrer, Kate Petosa

Cutting Medicaid would harm Iowa’s health and economy In the News

Cutting Medicaid would harm Iowa’s health and economy

In an op-ed published by Bleeding Heartland, Sue Dinsdale and Brian Keyser warn that if congressional Republicans slash Medicaid funding, Iowa’s economy could lose $8 billion over the next decade.

Bleeding Heartland

Sue Dinsdale, Brian Keyser

How Cuts to NIH Research Funding Would Hurt States Article
A sign stands near an entrance to the National Institutes of Health.

How Cuts to NIH Research Funding Would Hurt States

Proposed changes to the National Institutes of Health’s $48 billion budget would risk jobs, threaten state economies, and hamper progress toward prevention and treatment of diseases such as cancer.

Marquisha Johns

Policies To Combat Anticompetitive Practices in Health Care Report
The entrance to an emergency room is seen below a tall hospital building.

Policies To Combat Anticompetitive Practices in Health Care

Using their market power, health care providers and payers often leverage anticompetitive contracting terms to maximize profit at the expense of patient access and affordability.

Nicole Rapfogel, Marquisha Johns

Protecting Americans From Extreme Heat Past Event

Protecting Americans From Extreme Heat

Join CAP for an event discussing policy proposals and actions that can protect those most vulnerable to extreme heat.

Center for American Progress

Project 2025 Would Eliminate No-Cost Vaccines for 54 Million Medicare Beneficiaries Article
A patient receives a COVID-19 vaccine from a pharmacist at CVS.

Project 2025 Would Eliminate No-Cost Vaccines for 54 Million Medicare Beneficiaries

The Project 2025 agenda would cause Medicare beneficiaries to lose no-cost access to lifesaving vaccines, increasing their health care costs and jeopardizing their health—particularly for older Black and Latino adults and those with lower incomes.

Jill Rosenthal, Marquisha Johns

Protecting Older Adults From the Growing Threats of Extreme Heat Report
Older adults at three tables play dominos inside a cooling center.

Protecting Older Adults From the Growing Threats of Extreme Heat

Policymakers must improve heat resilience among older Americans, who face higher risks of extreme heat-related health conditions and deaths, and strengthen the social support and health care systems serving this growing share of the population.

Marquisha Johns, Beth Almeida, Jill Rosenthal

Project 2025’s Medicare Changes Would Restrict Older Americans’ Access to Care and Imperil the Program’s Financial Health Article
Close-up on hands tipping pills out of a bottle onto a table; pill organizer nearby

Project 2025’s Medicare Changes Would Restrict Older Americans’ Access to Care and Imperil the Program’s Financial Health

By making Medicare Advantage—privatized Medicare—the default option for all Medicare enrollees, Project 2025’s plan would lead to a multibillion-dollar giveaway to corporations that would limit older Americans’ health care choices while putting Medicare’s future at risk.

Brian Keyser, Andrea Ducas

Event Recap: State Policy Efforts To Avert and Alleviate Medical Debt Article
The back of a nurse is seen as they tend to a patient in a hospital bed.

Event Recap: State Policy Efforts To Avert and Alleviate Medical Debt

The fourth session in the Center for American Progress’ state health care affordability series highlighted policies in Minnesota and Oregon as well as model legislation aimed at protecting consumers from the financial burdens of medical debt.

Natasha Murphy

State Policy Efforts to Avert and Alleviate Medical Debt Past Event

State Policy Efforts to Avert and Alleviate Medical Debt

Join the Center for American Progress for a virtual discussion with state officials and legal experts on policy options to protect consumers from the financial burdens of medical debt.

Center for American Progress | Online

How the Affordable Care Act Improved Access to Preventive Health Services Report
Woman lifting smiling daughter into the air

How the Affordable Care Act Improved Access to Preventive Health Services

Congress must protect and build on the Affordable Care Act’s provisions related to disease prevention and health promotion over and beyond the law’s historic health coverage expansions—particularly in light of the recent Braidwood v. Becerra decision.

Marquisha Johns, Jill Rosenthal

Lowering Costs for American Families Past Event

Lowering Costs for American Families

Join CAP for a conversation with Neera Tanden, Domestic Policy Advisor to President Joe Biden.

Center for American Progress

CAP Responds to Request for Information on Consolidation in Health Care Markets Article

CAP Responds to Request for Information on Consolidation in Health Care Markets

The Center for American Progress submitted a response to the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ request for information on consolidation in health care markets.

Natasha Murphy, Nicole Rapfogel, Alexandra Thornton, 3 More Marc Jarsulic, Andrea Ducas, Brian Keyser

State Policy Efforts To Improve Prescription Drug Affordability for Consumers Past Event

State Policy Efforts To Improve Prescription Drug Affordability for Consumers

Join the Center for American Progress for a virtual discussion with state officials on initiatives to lower pharmaceutical costs and improve affordability and access.

Center for American Progress | Online

Film Screening: ‘The Bitter Pill’ Past Event

Film Screening: ‘The Bitter Pill’

A documentary about the biggest civil litigation in U.S. history that took on pharmaceutical companies and their role in the opioid epidemic. The film will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers.

Center For American Progress | 1333 H St. NW Washington DC 20005 | In-Person Only | Registration for this event has closed.

Event Recap: State Policy Efforts To Enhance Consumer Protections in Health Care and Improve the Value of Insurance Article
End of a hospital bed seen through a door

Event Recap: State Policy Efforts To Enhance Consumer Protections in Health Care and Improve the Value of Insurance

The second session in the Center for American Progress’ state health care affordability series highlighted policies that Connecticut, Tennessee, and Texas have implemented to address common barriers that undermine affordability and compromise access to care.

Natasha Murphy

Event Recap: Affordability Beyond Premiums Article
Registered nurses sit at their desks while working at a medical center.

Event Recap: Affordability Beyond Premiums

The first session in the Center for American Progress’ state health care affordability series highlighted policies in New Mexico, California, and New Jersey to lower out-of-pocket costs for marketplace enrollees.

Natasha Murphy

2024 Affordable Care Act Marketplace Plan Selections by Congressional District Interactive
A staff nurse checks a patient at a hospital.

2024 Affordable Care Act Marketplace Plan Selections by Congressional District

A new CAP interactive explores the proportion of nonelderly people who made federally facilitated marketplace plan selections during the 2024 open enrollment period by congressional district. Without congressional action, consumers will lose the enhanced financial assistance that supported record levels of enrollment.

Nicole Rapfogel

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