Center for American Progress

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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 Working On

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.

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).

Source

$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).

The Health Care Costs of Extreme Heat

$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).

A man reads literature on Medicare at an event sponsored by MetroPlus in New York City.
Ending Overpayment in Medicare Advantage

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).

Climate-Resilient Health Care Promotes Public Health, Equity, and Climate Justice

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The Trump Administration’s Plan To Politicize Federal Grants Would Harm American Health and Innovation Report
A researcher works in a kinesiology and nutrition lab.

The Trump Administration’s Plan To Politicize Federal Grants Would Harm American Health and Innovation

A new proposed rule from the Trump administration would subject all federally funded grants and research to politically motivated decision-making, as well as violate the laws governing agency rulemaking and the constitutional rights of Americans.

Jill Rosenthal, Sara Partridge, Devon Ombres, 3 More Haley Norris, Mariam Rashid, Ryan Mulholland

CAP Comments on the Office of Management and Budget’s Proposed Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance Article

CAP Comments on the Office of Management and Budget’s Proposed Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance

The Center for American Progress submitted a comment letter to the Office of Management and Budget opposing its proposed rule on federal financial assistance, arguing that it would prohibit agencies from exercising their statutorily defined powers to independently set grant conditions and funding rules for federal funding programs.

Jill Rosenthal, Sara Partridge, Devon Ombres, 3 More Haley Norris, Mariam Rashid, Ryan Mulholland

Resumen ejecutivo: Una Declaración de Derechos del Paciente para reducir los costos de la atención médica Hoja informativa
Two prescription pill bottles on table, one standing and one on its side with pills spilling out

Resumen ejecutivo: Una Declaración de Derechos del Paciente para reducir los costos de la atención médica

El plan de CAP limitaría los aumentos injustificados de las primas, reduciría los deducibles al frenar los precios hospitalarios atípicos, y sustituiría la autorización previa por una revisión clínica independiente y basada en la evidencia, con el fin de reducir los costos de atención médica y ampliar el acceso oportuno a la atención.

Topher Spiro, Neera Tanden, Natasha Murphy, 3 More Neda Ashtari, Kierra B. Jones, Brian Keyser

Executive Summary: A Patients’ Bill of Rights To Lower Health Care Costs Fact Sheet
Two prescription pill bottles on table, one standing and one on its side with pills spilling out

Executive Summary: A Patients’ Bill of Rights To Lower Health Care Costs

CAP’s plan would limit unjustified premium increases; reduce deductibles by reining in outlier hospital prices; and replace prior authorization with independent, evidence-based clinical review to lower health care costs and increase access to timely care.

Topher Spiro, Neera Tanden, Natasha Murphy, 3 More Neda Ashtari, Kierra B. Jones, Brian Keyser

Updated: TrumpRx Discounts 0.13 Percent of Prescription Drugs While 22 Million Americans See Costs Rise Article
Shelves at a pharmacy are stacked with bottles of prescription medication.

Updated: TrumpRx Discounts 0.13 Percent of Prescription Drugs While 22 Million Americans See Costs Rise

Premiums have more than doubled for millions of Americans since enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits expired, and millions more are projected to lose coverage over the next decade. The administration’s response: a coupon portal covering 80 out of more than 24,000 FDA-approved drugs, with new savings on at most 31.

The CAP Health Policy Team

How the Trump Administration’s Embrace of Oil, Gas, and Chemical Industry Interests Will Endanger Children’s Health Report
Children climb on play equipment during sunset in Liberty State Park.

How the Trump Administration’s Embrace of Oil, Gas, and Chemical Industry Interests Will Endanger Children’s Health

The Trump administration’s actions to eliminate lifesaving environmental protections would allow corporate polluters to emit more toxins and chemicals, exposing more than 2 million kids to pollutants that increase the likelihood of lifelong health concerns—such as asthma, autism, ADHD, and cancer—while undercutting the administration’s own “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.

Cathleen Kelly, Jill Rosenthal, Jasia Smith

CAP Calls on CMS To Hold Medicare Advantage Plans Accountable for Upcoding, Predatory Marketing, Prior Authorization Practices, and AI Use in Coverage Decisions Article

CAP Calls on CMS To Hold Medicare Advantage Plans Accountable for Upcoding, Predatory Marketing, Prior Authorization Practices, and AI Use in Coverage Decisions

The Center for American Progress submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) urging reforms to rein in Medicare Advantage overpayments, strengthen accountability for providing equitable care, and protect beneficiaries from predatory marketing practices and prior authorization-related harms.

Neda Ashtari

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