Strengthening Health

We work to strengthen public health systems and improve health care coverage, access, and affordability.

A pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic is seen in California. (Getty/Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

What We're Doing

Strengthening public health systems

The COVID-19 pandemic and increasing intensity of extreme weather conditions and natural disasters have exposed the many inequities and weaknesses in the United States’ public health infrastructure. We focus on improving health equity by investing in public health; addressing the social, economic, and environmental factors that affect health; and preparing for and mitigating future health threats.

Improving access to affordable health coverage

We’re dedicated to bolstering access to affordable, high-quality health coverage options. By building on the Affordable Care Act, closing the Medicaid coverage gap, strengthening the Medicare program, and innovating other progressive health care solutions, we envision a world in which everyone can access high-value care.

Lowering health care prices and consumer costs

Health care affordability is a top consumer concern, and out-of-pocket costs for health care and prescription drugs are inaccessibly high for many. One of our key priorities is improving America’s health by protecting consumers and lowering costs to ensure that all people can afford to manage their health. We also work to combat the upstream drivers of high health care costs and prices, including excessive levels of consolidation and anticompetitive health care practices.

 

Increasing vaccination rates to prevent death and disease

Vaccination is key to avoiding preventable illness, death, and economic loss. We promote policies to ensure a robust vaccine supply, to provide people with no-cost access to vaccines, and to combat vaccine misinformation and disinformation.

Center for American Progress

Turning Bold Ideas Into Effective Policies

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By the Numbers

41%

About 4 in 10 adults report having debt due to medical or dental bills.

KFF, “Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs” (2024).

$1B each summer

The health care costs from hospital admissions and emergency department visits due to extreme heat days.

CAP, “The Health Care Costs of Extreme Heat” (2023).

$1.3T

Without reform, Medicare is at risk of overpaying Medicare Advantage plans between $1.3 trillion and $2 trillion over the next decade.

CAP, “Ending Overpayment in Medicare Advantage” (2024).

1 in 3

The proportion of community health center sites that are located in areas of high relative climate vulnerability.

CAP, “Climate-Resilient Health Care Promotes Public Health, Equity, and Climate Justice” (2024).

Recent Work

Latest

Compact View

Rising Extreme Heat Compounds the U.S. Maternal Health Crisis Report
A midwife picks greens for a pregnant mother and her daughter.

Rising Extreme Heat Compounds the U.S. Maternal Health Crisis

Policymakers must act to protect the health and safety of pregnant people—including by passing the Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act, increasing access to indoor home cooling, and quickly adopting a federal occupational heat standard.

Amina Khalique

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.

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

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