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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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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

TrumpRx Discounts Only One Drug While 22 Million Americans See Costs Rise Article
Shelves at a pharmacy are stacked with bottles of prescription medication.

TrumpRx Discounts Only One Drug 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 54 drugs, with new savings on exactly one.

Neda Ashtari

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

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

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

About Extreme Heat, We Need to Prioritize Children In the News

About Extreme Heat, We Need to Prioritize Children

In an op-ed published by InsideSources, Hailey Gibbs highlights proven strategies that communities and policymakers can adopt to better mitigate the deadly effects of climate change for young children and infants.

InsideSources

Hailey Gibbs

$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

The Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans’ Plan To Make Billionaires Richer May Make Americans Sicker Article
Cars travel on the highway to and from Los Angeles, which is enveloped in smog.

The Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans’ Plan To Make Billionaires Richer May Make Americans Sicker

The Trump administration and congressional Republicans are working to finance their plans to cut taxes for the ultrawealthy—and they are cutting environmental protection and clean energy programs, endangering American lives and livelihoods, as part of this effort.

Shannon Baker-Branstetter, Lucero Marquez

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

‘Patrice: The Movie’: A Reel Progress Screening Past Event
Film promotion for 'Patrice: The Movie,' Garry and Patrice are on a pink background. Garry is in a wheelchair looking up at Patrice. Partrice is wearing glasses and a walking aide smiling at the camera.

‘Patrice: The Movie’: A Reel Progress Screening

Join the Center for American Progress for a special screening and discussion on a documentary rom-com about the next phase of marriage equality: disability.

Center for American Progress

Climate Change Jeopardizes HIV Care in the U.S. Article
Photo shows a black and white sign reading

Climate Change Jeopardizes HIV Care in the U.S.

Policymakers and public health officials need to take steps to integrate climate resilience in HIV/AIDS health care programs to mitigate the disproportionate impact that extreme weather events have on people living with HIV.

Haley Norris

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.

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

Supreme Court Dismisses Idaho v. United States Without Making a Decision on Emergency Abortion Care Article
The U.S. Supreme Court is pictured on June 26, 2024, a day before issuing its ruling in Idaho v. United States.

Supreme Court Dismisses Idaho v. United States Without Making a Decision on Emergency Abortion Care

While the merits of Idaho v. United States will be decided by the lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court admitted to procedural miscalculations that directly compromised the safety of pregnant patients in Idaho—underscoring how pregnant patients and medical providers will continue to be caught in the chaos and confusion sowed by the politicization of medication.

Sabrina Talukder

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

Abortion Access Mapped by Congressional District: 6-Week Abortion Ban Update Article

Abortion Access Mapped by Congressional District: 6-Week Abortion Ban Update

Florida’s extreme abortion ban for women who reach six weeks of pregnancy has essentially cut off abortion access for women in the South; new analysis by the Center for American Progress maps the latest driving times to an abortion clinic and the changes since the Dobbs decision by congressional district that, as a consequence of reduced abortion access, increase average district driving times by 300 percent nationally.

Sara Estep

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

Project 2025’s Distortion of a Reconstruction-Era Law Could Enact a National Abortion Ban Article
Photo shows an empty room with cabinets and an exam chair in the center

Project 2025’s Distortion of a Reconstruction-Era Law Could Enact a National Abortion Ban

This column is the first out of two pieces highlighting how far-right extremists plan to misapply the Comstock Act to eliminate access to medication abortion through the mail by overriding the independence of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Sabrina Talukder

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

Abortion Access Mapped by Congressional District Article

Abortion Access Mapped by Congressional District

Who is the typical woman of reproductive age in each congressional district? What is her income? What is her demographic profile? Does she live in poverty? How far must she travel to get an abortion? A new Center for American Progress analysis answers these questions and more for the districts of the 118th Congress (January 2023–January 2025).

Sara Estep

CAP Changemakers: The Intersectionality of Black Maternal Health Care and Abortion Access Video

CAP Changemakers: The Intersectionality of Black Maternal Health Care and Abortion Access

This conversation with Sabrina Talukder and Dr. Jamila K. Taylor highlights the vital intersection of Black maternal health care and abortion access, advocating for equitable policies and dignified care for marginalized communities.

Sabrina Talukder, Jamila Taylor, Toni Pandolfo, 3 More Olivia Mowry, Hai-Lam Phan, Matthew Gossage

Emergency Abortion Care Under Threat in Idaho v. United States: The Medical Providers Perspective Past Event

Emergency Abortion Care Under Threat in Idaho v. United States: The Medical Providers Perspective

Join the Center for American Progress and physician storytellers from Idaho and other rural states to discuss how the criminalization of abortion care, the future of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), and the interference of the U.S. Supreme Court in their daily medical practice has changed their personal and professional lives.

Online only

5 Connections Between Attacks on Abortion Care and Transgender Medical Care in Idaho Court Cases Article
Photo shows a group of people demonstrating in front of the Supreme Court building. One sign reads

5 Connections Between Attacks on Abortion Care and Transgender Medical Care in Idaho Court Cases

Two court cases originating in Idaho—Idaho v. United States and Poe v. Labrador—reveal five connections between attacks on abortion care and transgender medical care and highlight how the politicization of the judiciary is fueling the politicization of medicine.

Sabrina Talukder, Caleb Smith

Monthly Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Savings by State Interactive
Farxiga, Xarelto, Entresto, and Eliquis are made available to customers at the New City Halsted Pharmacy in Chicago.

Monthly Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Savings by State

Medicare drug price negotiation will result in thousands of dollars in net price savings for 30-day supplies of the first 10 drugs undergoing negotiation; here’s how those savings add up state by state.

Nicole Rapfogel

The FDA’s Decisions on Mifepristone Have Advanced the Safety of Medication Abortion Article
A “combipack” of mifepristone and misoprostol pills is seen at a pharmacy.

The FDA’s Decisions on Mifepristone Have Advanced the Safety of Medication Abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. Food and Drug Administration, an unprecedented case on medication abortion that threatens to roll back years of scientific progress by undermining FDA decisions that have repeatedly affirmed and enhanced the safety of mifepristone.

Kierra B. Jones

5 Things To Know About Pharmacy Benefit Managers Article

5 Things To Know About Pharmacy Benefit Managers

Pharmacy benefit managers are pharmaceutical middlemen that can inflate prescription drug costs for insurers and consumers.

Nicole Rapfogel

How the Alabama IVF Ruling Is Connected to Upcoming Supreme Court Cases on Abortion Article
An in vitro fertilization (IVF) patient at the University of Alabama at Birmingham holds up a photo of her daughter.

How the Alabama IVF Ruling Is Connected to Upcoming Supreme Court Cases on Abortion

The conservative judges in the Alabama in vitro fertilization (IVF) ruling, Idaho v. United States, and Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) all issued decisions that seemingly supported their personal and political ideology over the rule of law, further fueling the politicization of medicine.

Sabrina Talukder

In Idaho v. United States, the Supreme Court Must Reckon With the Post-Dobbs Reality It Created Article
A sign hangs near the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.

In Idaho v. United States, the Supreme Court Must Reckon With the Post-Dobbs Reality It Created

In April 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court will review Idaho v. United States, which will determine if medical providers can continue providing abortions to pregnant women experiencing dire medical conditions under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.

Sabrina Talukder

Executive Summary: How Federal Investments in Safe Drinking Water Infrastructure Are Improving Public Health Fact Sheet
Photo shows a hand holding a clear glass underneath a running faucet

Executive Summary: How Federal Investments in Safe Drinking Water Infrastructure Are Improving Public Health

This fact sheet summarizes a recent Center for American Progress report highlighting the use of federal investments from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to replace dangerous lead service lines and advance public health among vulnerable communities.

Jill Rosenthal, Allie Schneider, Hailey Gibbs, 1 More Mariam Rashid

CAP Files Amicus Curiae Briefs Highlighting Importance of the Inflation Reduction Act in Lowering Drug Prices Article

CAP Files Amicus Curiae Briefs Highlighting Importance of the Inflation Reduction Act in Lowering Drug Prices

These briefs emphasize the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare prescription drug price negotiation program for affordability and health equity.

Sophia Weaver, Marquisha Johns, Andrea Ducas, 3 More Jamie Crooks, Devon Ombres, Ben Olinsky

CAP Files Amicus Curiae Brief Highlighting Importance of the Inflation Reduction Act in Lowering Drug Prices Article

CAP Files Amicus Curiae Brief Highlighting Importance of the Inflation Reduction Act in Lowering Drug Prices

This brief, filed by the Center for American Progress and the NAACP in response to Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al., emphasizes the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare prescription drug price negotiation program for affordability and health equity.

Sophia Weaver, Marquisha Johns, Andrea Ducas

2023 Progressive Wins Video

2023 Progressive Wins

This year saw protections for transgender rights, women's rights, the environment, and U.S. democracy overall, as well as strides in building the economy and keeping communities safe.

Hai-Lam Phan, Toni Pandolfo, Ming Gault, 1 More Jeremy Hill

How Ohio’s Special Election Results Will Both Protect Abortion and Affect Maternal Mortality in the State Article
Photo shows several people at polling stations filling out their ballots in a well-lit room

How Ohio’s Special Election Results Will Both Protect Abortion and Affect Maternal Mortality in the State

Ohio’s Issue 1 ballot initiative to codify the legal status of abortion in the state constitution affects both abortion access and maternal mortality rates.

Sabrina Talukder, Tracy Weitz, Sara Estep, 3 More Kierra B. Jones, Amina Khalique, Isabela Salas-Betsch

Drug Companies Continue To Hike Prices Above Inflation Article
Bottles of prescription drugs are filled as they move down an automated line at a pharmacy

Drug Companies Continue To Hike Prices Above Inflation

New analysis makes clear that the Inflation Reduction Act’s inflation rebates should extend to the commercial market.

Nicole Rapfogel

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference Past Event
CAP IDEAS Conference logo

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference

Join the Center for American Progress as we celebrate 20 years of innovative policy solutions and look boldly forward to a progressive future.

CAP Comments on the EPA’s Proposed Rule on Lead Dust Levels in Child-Occupied Facilities Article

CAP Comments on the EPA’s Proposed Rule on Lead Dust Levels in Child-Occupied Facilities

The Center for American Progress submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in response to the agency’s proposed lower lead dust hazard standards and clearance levels for child-occupied homes and child care facilities.

Jill Rosenthal, Hailey Gibbs, Allie Schneider

Executive Summary: A Whole-of-Government, Society-Wide Approach to Tackling the Opioid Crisis Fact Sheet

Executive Summary: A Whole-of-Government, Society-Wide Approach to Tackling the Opioid Crisis

This fact sheet summarizes a recent Center for American Progress report outlining the need for a whole-of-government, society-wide approach to addressing the complex challenges posed by the opioid overdose epidemic.

Trinh Q. Truong, Debu Gandhi, Jill Rosenthal, 5 More Marquisha Johns, Mariam Rashid, Dan Restrepo, Akua Amaning, Cleo Bluthenthal

Tackling the Opioid Crisis Requires a Whole-of-Government, Society-Wide Approach Report
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents sift through packages in search of fentanyl.

Tackling the Opioid Crisis Requires a Whole-of-Government, Society-Wide Approach

The opioid epidemic is a complex public health crisis that can be ameliorated by addressing root causes of drug use; expanding access to treatment and harm reduction strategies; and reducing the supply of illicit opioids entering the United States.

Trinh Q. Truong, Debu Gandhi, Jill Rosenthal, 5 More Marquisha Johns, Mariam Rashid, Dan Restrepo, Akua Amaning, Cleo Bluthenthal

In the face of a national drug shortage, the US must bolster its supply chains In the News

In the face of a national drug shortage, the US must bolster its supply chains

Marquisha Johns writes in The Hill why reauthorizing the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Response Act is essential to avoid drug supply chain issues and shortages.

The Hill

Marquisha Johns

What to Know as Abortion Access Heads Back to the Supreme Court Article
Packages of mifepristone are displayed at a family planning clinic.

What to Know as Abortion Access Heads Back to the Supreme Court

Access to mifepristone remains unchanged for now as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to ultimately determine approval of the medication and the independence of drug approvals in the United States.

Maggie Jo Buchanan, Sabrina Talukder, Becca Damante, 1 More Kierra B. Jones

What To Know About Ohio’s Special Election and Abortion Access Article
An activist seen holding a placard that says protect safe, legal abortion.

What To Know About Ohio’s Special Election and Abortion Access

On August 8, Ohio’s special election to change the threshold for approving constitutional amendments will have implications for a November 2023 ballot initiative to protect access to abortion.

Becca Damante

Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Will Help Millions of Seniors and Improve Health Equity Article
Photo shows three orange prescription drug bottles—one full with the cap off, and two next to it with the caps screwed on—on an assembly line

Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Will Help Millions of Seniors and Improve Health Equity

The Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare drug price negotiation provision will improve access to and affordability of medications that help women, Black, Hispanic or Latino, LGBTQI+, and disabled beneficiaries.

Gillian Tisdale, Nicole Rapfogel

Strengthening Early Childhood Health, Housing, Education, and Economic Well-Being Through Holistic Public Policy Report
A child stacks duplo legos to make a tower in a Head Start classroom for children ages 3 to 5.

Strengthening Early Childhood Health, Housing, Education, and Economic Well-Being Through Holistic Public Policy

The preschool years present a critical developmental period sensitive to changes in public health and social policy, for which robust investments in programs that support families can improve intergenerational outcomes.

Allie Schneider, Hailey Gibbs

The Health Care Costs of Extreme Heat Report

The Health Care Costs of Extreme Heat

Daily climate and health care utilization data from Virginia illuminate the health care costs of extreme heat, which amount to approximately $1 billion every summer when extrapolated nationally.

Steven Woolf, Joseph Morina, Evan French, 6 More Adam Funk, Roy Sabo, Stephen Fong, Jeremy Hoffman, Derek Chapman, Alex Krist

1 Year Without Roe Personal Story
Photo shows a closeup of a woman's hands, with one clasped around the other

1 Year Without Roe

Doctors, doulas, and nurse practitioners detail their experiences since the overturn of Roe v. Wade and their fears in the rapidly evolving legal landscape of abortion care.

D.C. Abortion Doula Fills Gaps in Support Systems Post-Roe Personal Story
Photo shows a hand holding a pink sign that reads

D.C. Abortion Doula Fills Gaps in Support Systems Post-Roe

An abortion doula in Washington, D.C., describes how restrictions on abortion and medication abortions hurt the marginalized communities they serve.

The Biden Administration’s Move To Regulate Forever Chemicals in Water Is a Win for Public Health and Infrastructure Report
Hand holding collection jug under one faucet in a line of running faucets

The Biden Administration’s Move To Regulate Forever Chemicals in Water Is a Win for Public Health and Infrastructure

The Biden administration is proposing bold action to regulate dangerous chemicals in drinking water—and is coupling these regulations with critical funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help local water systems come into compliance.

Sarah Millender, Jill Rosenthal

Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA: The Safety of Medication Abortion Care Article
Photo shows an orange box of mifepristone pills next to a yellow container with four pills

Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA: The Safety of Medication Abortion Care

The judges in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA made egregious errors when describing post-medication ER care, which threatens access to all medications and highlights the politicization of the judiciary.

Becca Damante

Universal Paid Sick Time Would Strengthen Public Health and Benefit Businesses Report
Image showing a mother wearing a visor as she holds a child, who has a face mask on.

Universal Paid Sick Time Would Strengthen Public Health and Benefit Businesses

A national, guaranteed right to paid sick time is essential for the well-being of workers and their families and would have profound positive impacts on public health and businesses.

Isabela Salas-Betsch

Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Could Benefit Millions of Seniors Article

Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Could Benefit Millions of Seniors

The first 10 drugs negotiated under the Inflation Reduction Act are likely to include treatments for chronic conditions—such as diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune disorders—and be used by millions of beneficiaries.

Nicole Rapfogel

CAP’s Comments on FDA Draft Guidance for Lead Levels in Foods Marketed to Babies and Young Children Article

CAP’s Comments on FDA Draft Guidance for Lead Levels in Foods Marketed to Babies and Young Children

The Center for American Progress submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in response to the agency’s proposed draft guidance intended to reduce lead in foods marketed for infants and young children.

Jill Rosenthal, Hailey Gibbs, Allie Schneider

Advancing Access to Contraception in States Through Quality Measures and Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling Report
In a close-up shot, a nurse's gloved hands hold a single-use needle to implant the birth control device in the patient's prepped arm.

Advancing Access to Contraception in States Through Quality Measures and Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling

The fourth and final report in this Center for American Progress series highlighting best practices to improve and expand access to contraception at the state level focuses on the importance of contraceptive quality measures.

Kierra B. Jones

State Laws on Abortion Article
Photo shows protestors holding a bright-pink signs that reads

State Laws on Abortion

This primer provides resources and information on harmful and protective abortion legislation, as well as other laws restricting reproductive rights, advancing across the states.

Becca Damante, Kierra B. Jones

13 Years Later: The Affordable Care Act’s Enduring Legacy In the News

13 Years Later: The Affordable Care Act’s Enduring Legacy

This collection features stories from Americans whose lives were changed by the Affordable Care Act.

the Center for American Progress Action Fund

Local communities are buying medical debt for pennies on the dollar—and freeing American families from the threat of bankruptcy In the News

Local communities are buying medical debt for pennies on the dollar—and freeing American families from the threat of bankruptcy

State Rep. Michelle Grim (D-OH) describes how federal funding from the American Rescue Plan is being used to wipe medical debt in Ohio. An estimated 41,000 Ohio residents will see their medical debt erased thanks to the program that is being replicated in towns and local governments across the country.

Fortune

Michele Grim

Year 2 of the American Rescue Plan: Stories of Historic Recovery Article

Year 2 of the American Rescue Plan: Stories of Historic Recovery

On the second anniversary of the American Rescue Plan, Americans share how the legislation has affected their lives and communities.

the Center for American Progress Action Fund

Fact Sheet: Advancing Contraceptive Access in the States Through Quality Measures and Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling Fact Sheet
Artwork depicting contraceptive pills is seen behind a woman waiting at a family planning center.

Fact Sheet: Advancing Contraceptive Access in the States Through Quality Measures and Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling

This fact sheet accompanies a new Center for American Progress report on best practices to expand and improve access to contraception at the state level, covering common implementation challenges and offering recommendations for implementing contraceptive quality measures.

Kierra B. Jones

Fact Sheet: Challenges and Solutions to Improve Access to Contraception Through Section 1115 Medicaid Waivers and SPAs Fact Sheet
A woman has her vitals checked at a family planning center.

Fact Sheet: Challenges and Solutions to Improve Access to Contraception Through Section 1115 Medicaid Waivers and SPAs

This fact sheet accompanies a new Center for American Progress report on best practices to expand and improve access to contraception at the state level, covering common implementation challenges and offering recommendations to states pursuing family planning expansions through Section 1115 Medicaid waivers and state plan amendments (SPAs).

Kierra B. Jones

Nonprofit Hospitals Can Improve Community Health Through Housing Investments Report
Exterior of IRS building

Nonprofit Hospitals Can Improve Community Health Through Housing Investments

Nonprofit hospitals have an obligation to provide community benefit; as part of this, they should do more to support the housing needs of the communities they serve.

Marquisha Johns, Nicole Rapfogel

Empowering State Attorneys General To Fight Health Care Consolidation Report
Photo shows an exterior view of a tan-colored hospital

Empowering State Attorneys General To Fight Health Care Consolidation

To address hospital consolidation, improve competition, and protect consumers from higher health care costs, state legislatures should act to strengthen and support state attorneys general antitrust enforcement authority.

Sam Hughes, Natasha Murphy

Fact Sheet: Common Challenges and Recommended Solutions for Implementing Pharmacist Prescribing of Contraceptives Fact Sheet
Person holding birth control pills

Fact Sheet: Common Challenges and Recommended Solutions for Implementing Pharmacist Prescribing of Contraceptives

This fact sheet accompanies a new Center for American Progress report on best practices to expand and improve contraceptive access at the state level, covering common implementation challenges and offering recommendations for expanding pharmacists’ prescriptive authority.

Kierra B. Jones

A Collaborative Agenda for the Disability and Reproductive Justice Communities in 2023 Fact Sheet
A close-up of the Capitol building

A Collaborative Agenda for the Disability and Reproductive Justice Communities in 2023

The Center for American Progress recently hosted a roundtable of more than 20 advocates from the reproductive and disability rights and justice communities—and has compiled the top five policy priorities important to focus on this year.

Mia Ives-Rublee, Emily DiMatteo, Amina Khalique, 3 More Kierra B. Jones, Anona Neal, Maggie Jo Buchanan

How the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity Can Respond to the Health Threats of the Climate Crisis Report

How the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity Can Respond to the Health Threats of the Climate Crisis

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Climate Change and Health Equity must elevate the health and environmental justice implications of the climate crisis and provide the connective tissue needed to harness resources, leverage authorities, and coordinate federal expertise.

Jill Rosenthal, Marquisha Johns

Fact Sheet: Common Challenges to Implementing One-Year Supply Policies and Recommended Solutions Fact Sheet
Planned Parenthood birth control sign.

Fact Sheet: Common Challenges to Implementing One-Year Supply Policies and Recommended Solutions

This fact sheet accompanies the Center for American Progress’ report on best practices to expand and improve contraceptive access at the state level, covering common implementation challenges and offering recommendations for one-year contraceptive dispensing policies.

Kierra B. Jones

Revolutionizing the Workplace: Why Long COVID and the Increase of Disabled Workers Require a New Approach Report
A doctor holds a patients hand during an appointment.

Revolutionizing the Workplace: Why Long COVID and the Increase of Disabled Workers Require a New Approach

Using new data from the U.S. Census Bureau to examine the impacts of long COVID on the labor market, this report recommends that employers, unions, and policymakers create better workplaces for disabled workers and all workers.

Mia Ives-Rublee, Rose Khattar, Anona Neal

The Biden Administration’s First 2 Years: Stories of Americans Who Benefit From a Government Invested in Their Future Article

The Biden Administration’s First 2 Years: Stories of Americans Who Benefit From a Government Invested in Their Future

This collection features stories from Americans across the country whose lives and communities have benefited from the legislative and executive actions passed under the Biden administration.

the Center for American Progress Action Fund

Film Screening: ‘InHospitable’ Past Event

Film Screening: ‘InHospitable’

This documentary film sheds light on the impacts of hospital consolidation and the conduct of non-profit hospitals.

Center for American Progress

Abortion Bans Will Result in More Women Dying Article
An abortion rights activist comforts her daughter following the 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

Abortion Bans Will Result in More Women Dying

Pregnancy carries risks, including death. Without abortion access, more women will die.

Elyssa Spitzer, Tracy Weitz, Maggie Jo Buchanan

How To Improve Value in Medicare Report

How To Improve Value in Medicare

Policy options that reduce spending and support quality, while preserving coverage, affordability, and care access for seniors, can improve the value of Medicare.

Thomas Waldrop, Marquisha Johns, Sarah Millender, 1 More Emily Gee

5 Important Facts About Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pills Article

5 Important Facts About Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pills

Approving oral hormonal contraceptive pills to be sold over the counter could expand access to contraceptive options, increase women’s bodily autonomy, and ensure people can decide when to become pregnant.

Kierra B. Jones

Policies To Hold Nonprofit Hospitals Accountable Report
Photo shows a nurse walking with a patient.

Policies To Hold Nonprofit Hospitals Accountable

Policymakers should ensure that all nonprofit hospitals fulfill their charitable mission and their obligation to address community needs.

Emily Gee, Thomas Waldrop

Preventing the Next Jackson-Like Water Crisis In the News

Preventing the Next Jackson-Like Water Crisis

Marquisha Johns and Nicole Rapfogel explain why the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, was the result of long-standing disinvestment, environmental injustice, and health inequities—and they urge state lawmakers to direct funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act toward the communities that need them most.

Route Fifty

Marquisha Johns, Nicole Rapfogel

Recover, Rebuild, Reform: Stories of Americans Affected by the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act Article

Recover, Rebuild, Reform: Stories of Americans Affected by the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act

This CAP Action collection features stories from people in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire whose lives have been improved by the legislation passed during the Biden administration’s first two years.

the Center for American Progress Action Fund

What You Need to Know About the Bill to Ban Abortion Nationwide Article
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

What You Need to Know About the Bill to Ban Abortion Nationwide

Graham’s proposed national ban would prohibit abortion after 15 weeks nationwide, with only very narrow exceptions—while still allowing states to ban abortion even more strictly.

Maggie Jo Buchanan

The Inflation Reduction Act: What It All Means Past Event

The Inflation Reduction Act: What It All Means

Please join the Center for American Progress for a multipanel discussion with OMB Director Shalanda Young, one of the key officials responsible for implementing the IRA, and everyday Americans about the Inflation Reduction Act and what it will mean for the United States and the American people.

5 Facts About the Monkeypox Outbreak Article
Health care workers work at intake tents in New York City.

5 Facts About the Monkeypox Outbreak

While monkeypox is less contagious than COVID-19 and largely preventable through vaccination, the outbreak has highlighted that the U.S. public health system remains underprepared for crises.

Marquisha Johns

Advancing Health Care Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBTQI+ Communities Report
A woman wears a pride flag in her hair in Manassas, Virginia.

Advancing Health Care Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBTQI+ Communities

New data reveal that LGBTQI+ communities encounter discrimination and other challenges when interacting with health care providers and health insurers, underscoring the importance of strengthening nondiscrimination protections through Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.

Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald

Overturning Roe Will Exacerbate the Black Maternal Mortality Crisis. It’s Time for Our Leaders To Act In the News

Overturning Roe Will Exacerbate the Black Maternal Mortality Crisis. It’s Time for Our Leaders To Act

The Black Maternal Health Federal Policy Collective, including CAP's Osub Ahmed, writes about why Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women.

Ms. Magazine

Black Maternal Health Federal Policy Collective, Osub Ahmed

The United States Can End Hunger and Food Insecurity for Millions of People Report
A pastor organizes bags of carrots for delivery to those in need.

The United States Can End Hunger and Food Insecurity for Millions of People

Policymakers must reimagine the United States’ long-term approach to food production and distribution to build an equitable and sustainable system that works for all.

Arohi Pathak, Ryan Richards, Marc Jarsulic

Hyde’s Restrictions on Abortion Are Unacceptable Article
Abortion rights activists march past the Washington Monument.

Hyde’s Restrictions on Abortion Are Unacceptable

While it is critical that Congress works to codify the promise of Roe v. Wade and ensure equitable access to abortion care, the federal government must take what steps it can now under the scope of the Hyde Amendment to increase access to care and protect patients.

Maggie Jo Buchanan, Tracy Weitz

Women’s Stories on Economic Justice and Health Care Article

Women’s Stories on Economic Justice and Health Care

This CAP Action storybook features women in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire whose stories center on issues from prescription drug pricing and health insurance, to child care and paid leave.

the Center for American Progress Action Fund

Expanding Access and Protections in States Where Abortion Is Legal Article
Abortion rights advocates holding a large sign that reads

Expanding Access and Protections in States Where Abortion Is Legal

Abortion is protected by state law in more than 20 states, many of which have expanded access to abortion by making it more affordable, codifying state-level reproductive rights, broadening the types of providers able to offer care, and protecting abortion providers and access to clinics.

Kierra B. Jones

A Strong Start in Life: How Public Health Policies Affect the Well-Being of Pregnancies and Families Report
A mother kisses her child as her midwife examines her at a birthing center in South Los Angeles.

A Strong Start in Life: How Public Health Policies Affect the Well-Being of Pregnancies and Families

Understanding how the key social determinants of health—including housing, employment, and education—affect perinatal health is critical to ensuring that federal policies support healthy babies and families.

Hailey Gibbs, Marquisha Johns, Osub Ahmed, 2 More Maggie Jo Buchanan, Arohi Pathak

Defining and Defending Contraception Post-Roe Article
A mostly used birth control packet rests on a counter top.

Defining and Defending Contraception Post-Roe

The misclassification of contraception as abortion by anti-abortion lawmakers is an alarming step down a path toward government control over women’s bodies and futures.

Elyssa Spitzer, Elyssa Spitzer

Some States Are Ready To Punish Abortion in a Post-Roe World Report
Reproductive health advocates rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court.

Some States Are Ready To Punish Abortion in a Post-Roe World

For generations, Americans have known abortion to be a fundamental right; if Roe v. Wade is overturned, some states will quickly make it a crime.

Elyssa Spitzer

Americans Strongly Back Continued Access to Early Abortion Medication Article

Americans Strongly Back Continued Access to Early Abortion Medication

American voters overwhelmingly want to keep the constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade and strongly support legal access to early abortion medication for all women.

Maggie Jo Buchanan, John Halpin

What Is Public Health? Video

What Is Public Health?

Public health plays a key role in keeping us all safe and healthy. This video shows how public health works and calls for investment in the nation’s public health system.

Marquisha Johns, Jill Rosenthal, Nicole Rapfogel, 3 More Ala Al Sadi, Hai-Lam Phan, Toni Pandolfo

The Behavioral Health Care Affordability Problem Report
A woman nervously rubs her hands together while speaking about her depression.

The Behavioral Health Care Affordability Problem

Policymakers could make behavioral health care, including mental health services, more affordable and accessible by enforcing network adequacy and parity provisions, lowering patient costs, and making networking with insurers more attractive for providers.

Nicole Rapfogel

Prescription Drug Reform Is a Women’s Economic Security Issue Article
A woman with sickle cell disease poses for a portrait.

Prescription Drug Reform Is a Women’s Economic Security Issue

Lowering the cost of prescription drugs would ensure that women and their families are able to access needed health care while also bolstering their economic security.

Maggie Jo Buchanan, Osub Ahmed

Video: How To Ease the U.S. Nursing Shortage Video

Video: How To Ease the U.S. Nursing Shortage

The nursing profession is critical to the health of the country and the economic security of millions of workers. This video shows how the nation can support its nurses.

Marina Zhavoronkova, Bradley D. Custer, Anona Neal, 3 More Ala Al Sadi, Toni Pandolfo, Hai-Lam Phan

How To Ease the Nursing Shortage in America Report
Nurse wearing a face shield and mask

How To Ease the Nursing Shortage in America

The COVID-19 pandemic worsened a national shortage of registered nurses, making it increasingly urgent that policymakers invest in higher education, coordinate strategies to alleviate the pressures on the nursing workforce, and make the entire health care system more equitable and stable.

Marina Zhavoronkova, Bradley D. Custer, Anona Neal, 2 More Justin Schweitzer, Marcella Bombardieri

Fact Sheet: Easing the American Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet
A registered nurse and a respiratory therapist

Fact Sheet: Easing the American Nursing Shortage

Major investments of federal funding and sustained coordination are needed to mitigate the impact of nursing shortages and improve the nation’s ability to improve the health care system.

Marina Zhavoronkova, Bradley D. Custer, Anona Neal, 2 More Justin Schweitzer, Marcella Bombardieri

2022 State Abortion Bans Are a Patchwork of Increasingly Extreme Laws Article
Protestor holding sign that says all Texans deserve access to affordable, respectful abortion care

2022 State Abortion Bans Are a Patchwork of Increasingly Extreme Laws

As the country awaits the Supreme Court’s final decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, this column highlights the myriad ways in which opponents of abortion are pursuing unprecedented incursions on that fundamental constitutional right.

Elyssa Spitzer, Maggie Jo Buchanan

5 Key Facts About Medication Abortion Article
The U.S. Supreme Court building

5 Key Facts About Medication Abortion

Expanding access to safe abortion in whatever ways possible is more critical than ever—and a central way of doing so is to make medication abortion more easily accessible.

Elyssa Spitzer, Maggie Jo Buchanan

Fact Sheet: Top 10 Ways To Improve Health and Health Equity Fact Sheet
A 3-year-old girl keeps a close eye on the needle as both her grandparents are vaccinated.

Fact Sheet: Top 10 Ways To Improve Health and Health Equity

To improve health and well-being, policymakers must act to address inequities, infrastructure, and social determinants of health that contribute to poor health.

Jill Rosenthal, Nicole Rapfogel, Marquisha Johns

Top 10 Ways To Improve Health and Health Equity Report
A medical staff member holds the hand of a patient admitted to the COVID-19 intensive care unit for treatment.

Top 10 Ways To Improve Health and Health Equity

Policies to strengthen the nation’s health must ensure that individuals and communities are healthy, thriving, and inclusive through long-term, sustained investments.

Jill Rosenthal, Nicole Rapfogel, Marquisha Johns

Preventing Disruptions to Coverage and Care After the Public Health Emergency Report
A doctor, right, comforts an 8-year-old boy after his first vaccine shot as his mother looks on at a clinic in Denver.

Preventing Disruptions to Coverage and Care After the Public Health Emergency

As the conclusion of the national public health emergency looms, state and federal policymakers should improve continuity of care for millions of Medicaid enrollees facing disenrollment and preserve critical access to COVID-19 testing and treatment.

Natasha Murphy, Nicole Rapfogel

Strengthening Federal Network Adequacy Requirements for ACA Marketplace Plans Report
A man holds his wife's hand after she returns from the hospital, where doctors performed an emergency cesarean section.

Strengthening Federal Network Adequacy Requirements for ACA Marketplace Plans

In order to improve maternal health care access and outcomes for millions of pregnant and postpartum people in the United States, the federal government must ensure that health insurance plans available through the ACA marketplace offer robust maternity care provider networks.

Carolyn Sabini, Elyssa Spitzer, Osub Ahmed

How State and Local Leaders Can Prepare for Future COVID-19 Surges Article
A man gets a COVID-19 test at a testing hub at Penn Station in New York.

How State and Local Leaders Can Prepare for Future COVID-19 Surges

As COVID-19 wanes and governments relax public health measures, policymakers must closely monitor indicators that reflect prevalence and severity, precautions and protections, and treatment availability to maintain readiness for future surges and resume precautions as needed.

Jill Rosenthal

Maximizing Federal Investments To Address Social Determinants of Health Report
A resident-in-training physician gets a high-five from a 5-year-old patient as the patient’s mother sits by at a health center in Washington, D.C.

Maximizing Federal Investments To Address Social Determinants of Health

In its response to a request for information from the Congressional Caucus for Social Determinants of Health, CAP outlined challenges in addressing the social and economic conditions that affect health and actions Congress can take to improve them.

Marquisha Johns

Comment on Georgia Access Model Section 1332 Waiver Article

Comment on Georgia Access Model Section 1332 Waiver

The Center for American Progress wrote a comment letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of the Treasury on the impact of changes in federal law and policy on the Georgia Access Model’s compliance with statutory guardrails.

Emily Gee, Natasha Murphy

Covid vaccine and mask mandates expose alt-right Christian hypocrisy In the News

Covid vaccine and mask mandates expose alt-right Christian hypocrisy

Maggie Siddiqi explains why in the face of a deadly pandemic, religion must not be used as an excuse to avoid lifesaving vaccination and mask requirements.

NBC News

Maggie Siddiqi

Strategic Reengagement in the Middle East Report

Strategic Reengagement in the Middle East

The Biden administration can rebalance America’s policy in the Middle East through diplomacy, economic statecraft, and security cooperation—all while shifting away from direct military action.

Brian Katulis, Peter Juul

Key Issues Facing People With Intersex Traits Article
A young child carries a box of chalk outside their home, September 2018, in Milwaukee. They are one of a growing number of intersex children whose parents are raising them without early genital surgery. (Getty/John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service)

Key Issues Facing People With Intersex Traits

New CAP data and analysis offer insights into the experiences of people with intersex traits.

Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald

Including Immigration Parole in Reconciliation Will Help Millions Article
A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer handles folders with immigrants' applications for permanent U.S. residency at the Dallas Field Office in Irving, Texas, on August 22, 2016. (Getty/John Moore)

Including Immigration Parole in Reconciliation Will Help Millions

While not providing permanent protections, including immigration parole in reconciliation would allow up to 7.1 million undocumented immigrants to gain long-term temporary status while satisfying the objections of the Senate parliamentarian.

Philip E. Wolgin, Nicole Svajlenka, Claudia Flores

The Climate Needs a Balanced Judiciary Article
A smoky sunset is seen behind the Alameda County Superior Courthouse in Oakland, California, on September 14, 2020. (Getty/East Bay Times/Digital First Media/Jane Tyska)

The Climate Needs a Balanced Judiciary

As litigation continues over efforts to address climate change, it is critical that America’s federal courts include judges with professional expertise advancing climate protection policies.

Maggie Jo Buchanan

Social and Economic Policies Can Help Reverse Americans’ Declining Health Report
A child rides his bicycle through a park in Hoboken, New Jersey, as the sun sets on lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on October 5, 2020. (Getty/Gary Hershorn)

Social and Economic Policies Can Help Reverse Americans’ Declining Health

To meaningfully improve the health of Americans, new policies must target all of the drivers of health, including education, economic stability, neighborhoods and environments, social and community well-being, and historic inequities.

Steven Woolf

Investing in Home Care and Early Childhood Educators Has Outsize Impacts on Employment Article
Long-term caregivers and supporters rally in Los Angeles on July 13, 2021, for greater federal and local investment in the country's caregiving infrastructure. (Getty/Frederic J. Brown/AFP)

Investing in Home Care and Early Childhood Educators Has Outsize Impacts on Employment

Proposed investments in the Build Back Better agenda would benefit a significant number of workers, particularly women and women of color; transform the home care and early childhood sectors; and lift living standards and employment prospects for millions of Americans.

Marina Zhavoronkova, Rose Khattar

4 Things To Know About China’s Climate Approach Article
Steam billows out of chimneys of a coal-fired power plant in Hangzhou, China, on July 16, 2021. (Getty/Barcroft Media)

4 Things To Know About China’s Climate Approach

Understanding China’s approach to climate is vital, particularly in the lead-up to COP26.

Laura Edwards

New Poverty and Food Insecurity Data Illustrate Persistent Racial Inequities Article
A person receives free food as part of an outreach program, December 2013, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Getty/John Moore)

New Poverty and Food Insecurity Data Illustrate Persistent Racial Inequities

Data make it clear that policymakers must finally commit to an expansive racial equity agenda to ensure that racial and gender economic disparities do not continue into the future.

Areeba Haider, Lorena Roque

Nurse Urges EPA To Clean Up Pollution From Cars Video

Nurse Urges EPA To Clean Up Pollution From Cars

Nurse and scientist Roxana Chicas urges the U.S Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health and the climate by cleaning up pollution from cars.

Hannah Malus, Chris Chyung, Jasmine Hardy, 2 More Hai-Lam Phan, Nick Cahill

Optimizing the Federal Budget Process and Timeline To Center Climate Science Article
The White House is seen in Washington, October 2020. (Getty/Saul Loeb/AFP)

Optimizing the Federal Budget Process and Timeline To Center Climate Science

CAP recommendations would optimize the annual federal climate science budget process and timeline to provide necessary funding for the administration’s climate agenda.

Bianca Majumder, David Reidmiller

How Weak Safety Net Policies Exacerbate Regional and Racial Inequality Report

How Weak Safety Net Policies Exacerbate Regional and Racial Inequality

While all low-income individuals and families, particularly those of color, struggle to avoid falling into poverty, some receive less support solely because of where they live.

Alexandra Cawthorne Gaines, Bradley Hardy, Justin Schweitzer

Making CTC and EITC Expansions Permanent Would Reduce Poverty and Grow the Economy Article
Children pick up free lunch at a middle school in Arlington, Virginia, March 2020. (Getty/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

Making CTC and EITC Expansions Permanent Would Reduce Poverty and Grow the Economy

The child tax credit and earned income tax credit benefit low-income and working families, help families get back to work, and promote future work, while lifting children out of poverty and alleviating hunger.

Arohi Pathak

State Abortion Legislation in 2021 Report

State Abortion Legislation in 2021

In 2021, the United States has seen the highest number of abortion restrictions made law in a single year, and the legal context in which this newly enacted legislation will operate is particularly tenuous.

Elyssa Spitzer, Nora Ellmann

Prescription Drugs Can Be Affordable and Innovative Article
An automated robot arm picks up a bottle of prescription pills, December 2010, in a New Jersey pharmacy plant. (Getty/Stan Honda/AFP)

Prescription Drugs Can Be Affordable and Innovative

Reducing prescription drug prices does not have to come at the price of pharmaceutical innovation.

Gabriela Gutierrez, Thomas Waldrop

Fact Sheet: State-by-State Estimates of Citizenship in Budget Reconciliation Article
Activists stand in Lafayette Square, across from the White House, in an effort to urge Congress and the Biden administration to create a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants on August 17, 2021, in Washington, D.C.

Fact Sheet: State-by-State Estimates of Citizenship in Budget Reconciliation

The proposed House budget reconciliation bill would create a pathway to citizenship for 6.9 million Dreamers, those eligible for Temporary Protected Status, and essential workers—including farmworkers—all while boosting U.S. economy.

Nicole Svajlenka, Claudia Flores, Philip E. Wolgin

A Single Courageous State: Climate, Jobs, and Justice, Episode 3 Video

A Single Courageous State: Climate, Jobs, and Justice, Episode 3

Sean O’Leary of the Ohio River Valley Institute, Nancy Hirsh of the NW Energy Coalition and member of the Centralia Coal Transition Board, and Emmett Pepper of Energy Efficient West Virginia discuss how the retirement of a coal plant successfully led to local economic development and how the Centralia model can apply to other communities.

Chris Chyung, Hai-Lam Phan

To Harness the Power of the Ocean To Fight Climate Change, the Biden Administration Needs a Plan Article
A mangrove forest is pictured underwater in Mayotte Marine Natural Park, part of the Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean, November 2017. (Getty/Alexis Rosenfeld)

To Harness the Power of the Ocean To Fight Climate Change, the Biden Administration Needs a Plan

Ocean carbon dioxide removal solutions may contribute to policies and strategies that achieve the goal of negative emissions by midcentury, but implementation at scale must be balanced with concerns about unintended environmental impacts, environmental justice, a social license to operate, and governance issues.

Kelly Kryc, Kat So

The Medicaid Coverage Gap Requires Permanent Closure Article
A mother sits with her 3-week-old son in the waiting room of a health center that offers health services to uninsured and underserved people in Denver, March 2017. (Getty/Jason Connolly/AFP)

The Medicaid Coverage Gap Requires Permanent Closure

The Medicaid coverage gap, which leaves more than 2 million people uninsured, must be closed with a comprehensive, permanent solution.

Nicole Rapfogel, Emily Gee

Addressing Tax System Failings That Favor Billionaires and Corporations Report

Addressing Tax System Failings That Favor Billionaires and Corporations

Biden’s Build Back Better plan addresses key failings of the U.S. tax system that let the wealthy and corporations avoid paying their fair share; Congress can and should do even more.

Seth Hanlon, Galen Hendricks

The Oil and Gas Industry’s Dangerous Answer to Climate Change Article
Pipelines extend across the landscape outside Nuiqsut, Alaska, May 2019. (Getty/Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

The Oil and Gas Industry’s Dangerous Answer to Climate Change

Companies are resorting to extreme measures to protect their own operations from the effects of climate change, even as their lobbyists stall reform.

Sahir Doshi

A Win for Workers, Climate, and Communities Video

A Win for Workers, Climate, and Communities

This video tells the story of Frank, who, after being released from prison, joined the IBEW and built a career as an electrician focusing on electric vehicle chargers.

Hannah Malus, Chris Chyung, Hai-Lam Phan, 3 More Mathew Brady, Daniel Lafrentz, Jasmine Hardy

Protecting and Advancing Health Care for Transgender Adult Communities Report
A man guides his stepdaughter in a wheelchair through a parking lot outside a wound care clinic in Los Angeles, 2021. His stepdaughter is transgender. (Getty/Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

Protecting and Advancing Health Care for Transgender Adult Communities

The federal government and policymakers must address health disparities and barriers to care for transgender communities by implementing holistic policy solutions.

Caroline Medina, Thee Santos, Lindsay Mahowald, 1 More Sharita Gruberg

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