Senate Passes Health Insurance Reform

As I was writing the top 5 "growth areas" in poverty in 2009, the Senate passed an historic health insurance reform bill this morning (the first time the body has taken a roll call vote on Christmas Eve since 1895). The bill expands Medicaid to 15M more Americans, mandates private health insurance for the majority of Americans, and provides subsidies for us to buy that insurance, via private exchanges where we can compare plans. The Senate and House bills now go to conference for reconciliation and some degree of landmark reform is now imminent.

I'm of two minds about this bill: my pragmatic desire to see something pass is at odds with a bill that just made compulsory purchasing insurance from corporations without any public insurance-of-last-resort option - like exists in property insurance markets, for example. The devil is truly in the details of appropriations and implementation now, an arduous, political process that we face in the coming years. But there's no denying that this recent policy achievement - how nice to see Congress logging in hours slightly more equivalent to the average American! - is one of the most significant anti-poverty milestones this year. Health insurance reform and the stimulus comprise the top two anti-poverty efforts in 2009; unfortunately, record food stamp use, unemployment and foreclosures have contributed to a significant rise in poverty in 2009. Below, a look back at other top 4 "growth areas" in poverty in 2009.

1. The rise in food stamp use: 1 in 8 Americans now use food stamps. This is more Americans than ever before, and this population has been growing briskly in the last two years. It seems most of the media coverage has focused on middle-class families needing food assistance, in a manner reminiscent of US Weekly's "Stars! They're Just Like Us!" breathless excitement. We should give George Bush credit for expanding and trying to de-stigmatize food stamps; we'll see in the coming years if the shame so often associated with their use truly abates, and we accept with empathy that some families will struggle with hunger. (And take action accordingly!)
2. Record, crushing unemployment: While the national unemployment rate is 10.2%, experts estimate the actual rate is closer to 17%. For many groups already vulnerable to market inequalities, unemployment is unprecedented and deeply debilitating. Long-term unemployment is at record levels, with over 5M Americans out of work for at least 6 months. More older Americans are looking for work than at any time since the Great Depression. For young black men, it's the Great Depression all over again. 62% of the disabled are unemployed - one need only to read the educational and impassioned comments thread to understand the obstacles to putting our fellow Americans to work. Sadly, like with food stamps, shame weighs heavily on the already burdened shoulders of out-of-work Americans.
3. Record Foreclosures: When foreclosures grew a record 81% in 2008 over 2007, we knew it would get worse still in 2009. April saw foreclosure on one in about 375 homes nationwide; the third quarter of 2009 was "the worst three months of all time." And this was despite Obama's anti-foreclosure efforts - a paltry initiative in which the vast majority of struggling borrowers are not getting the help they need.
4. The Stimulus: The stimulus and health insurance reform (below) aim to reduce the growth in poverty or the lack of health coverage that so often drives people into poverty. According to the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities, the stimulus act passed earlier this year has kept 6M Americans out of poverty - and reduced economic hardship for an additional 33M. These estimates are conservative, based solely on direct benefits such as food stamps, unemployment benefits, and tax credits for working families. I think this is noteworthy, though I'd like to see us go further than just keep people from falling over the precipice, or cushioning their blows on their fall into despair. Job creation, anyone? (Hopefully this will be one of the top 5 anti-poverty growth strategies in 2010!)

(Photo by Will Brady)