Saving Medicaid: in their own words

 While going through some old files, I came across a copy of an interesting letter dated June 29, 2017, from then Governor, now Senator, Jim Justice to Senator Shelley Moore Capito. The subject was the looming threat of the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and especially Medicaid expansion.

Here are some excerpts:

Since so many of our people count on Medicaid, any cut to Medicaid would destroy families in West Virginia. We can’t put the 175,000 West Virginians who benefit from the Medicaid expansion at risk of losing coverage. The consequences would be beyond catastrophic.

In the face of our drug epidemic, fewer people would have access to drug treatment programs under the current proposal. As the debate moves forward, I hope you and your colleagues will consider the fact that it will only make it harder to combat the drug problem that’s ravaging West Virginia.

I think he nailed it then—and his words still apply today, arguably more than ever.

To her credit, Senator Capito issued this statement on July 18 of that year:

As I have said before, I did not come to Washington to hurt people. For months, I have expressed reservations about the direction of the bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. I have serious concerns about how we continue to provide affordable care to those who have benefited from West Virginia’s decision to expand Medicaid, especially in light of the growing opioid crisis. All of the Senate health care discussion drafts have failed to address these concerns adequately.

My position on this issue is driven by its impact on West Virginians. With that in mind, I cannot vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West Virginians.

I think she nailed it too.

Eight years later, we’re facing a similar threat. This time around, the issue isn’t directly repealing the whole ACA, although it might as well be. Instead, it’s a federal budget reconciliation package that would cut $880 billion from Medicaid (not to mention $230 billion in SNAP food assistance and $12 billion in school meal funding) to pay for more tax cuts for the very wealthy.

A cut that huge would truly be, as Justice said, beyond catastrophic across the US and especially in low-income states like West Virginia. Our already dismal health statistics would get worse. Minor issues will turn major. Substance use disorder will go untreated. The cost of emergency room visits and uncompensated care will grow and be passed on to others. Rural hospitals will close. Jobs will be lost. And people will die.

The margins in Congress are razor thin. Our senators’ votes could influence the final outcome, especially after the House voted to throw us under the bus. I hope they take their own advice and side with the people of West Virginia again.

(This appeared as a column in the Charleston Gazette-Mail.)

WV climate groups respond to the latest from Manchin

 Climate Alliance representing dozens of regional groups underscores the urgency of the climate crisis; rally at Manchin office planned for Monday

 

Charleston, W.Va.– Senator Joe Manchin announced today that he wants to delay a  plan to use the money that wealthy corporations owe to pay for desperately needed projects to help our climate and workers. 

In response, the West Virginia Climate Alliance submitted a letter to Senator Manchin (letter here). When the letter was sent, the Alliance requested an in person meeting with Senator Manchin, noting they had not been able to meet with the Senator in over a year to discuss grassroots concerns about climate impacts in the state.

“Every day that we delay taking action on the climate crisis makes our weather more extreme and the implementation of solutions even more challenging. The country, and indeed the planet, need Senator Manchin to negotiate in good faith on a bill addressing the climate crisis with the goal of keeping global warming below an increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Passage of this bill should not be contingent on a one month inflation report,” said Perry Bryant, founder of the WV Climate Alliance.

Manchin’s move comes just one day after more than 100 homes, roads and bridges in McDowell County, WV were damaged from climate-related flooding. 

The Rev. Jeffrey Allen, executive director of the West Virginia Council of Churches, stated, “Climate change is a crisis of today. It’s flooding in West Virginia and Virginia; fires in the West; and drought here and abroad. There is an enormous cost that we already bear due to our lack of action and it’s a cost being borne by our neighbors. Passing climate change legislation is as local as it gets. This legislation is not only for our neighbors, but for all of those people who we care deeply about. For their sake, we cannot afford to delay any longer.”

As the letter to Senator Manchin notes: “The late Senator Byrd said many times that filibustering the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was his biggest regret; the decision troubled him for the rest of his life. We encourage you to deeply consider the broad implications of continued delays to act to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, for your own children and grandchildren, and for all the children and grandchildren in our beautiful mountain state and across the world.”

Karan May, Sr. Campaign Representative for theSierra Club said, “Folks in Appalachia are among the hardest hit by the effects of climate change. West Virginians are paying the price for poor health outcomes from pollution; here and in Kentucky and Southwest Virginia, year after year, we are paying the enormous price for catastrophic flooding. Senator Manchin has the opportunity to facilitate meaningful change for his constituents and, yet, is choosing to walk away from legislation that could help alleviate this suffering.

We will continue to fight for policy that will address the climate crisis, while also putting money back into our communities with investments in clean energy and sustainable economic development.”

Linda Frame, President of the WV Environmental Council, said “After a year of good-faith discussions with Senator Manchin and his team it’s hard not to be deflated by this latest delay. We continue to urge Senator Manchin to seize this opportunity to do the right thing for our state, our country, and our planet because the alternative is unthinkable.” 

“The overall cost of building climate change resilient infrastructure, as well as the transition to a clean energy economy, can be paid for now,” said Eve Marcum-Atkinson, Comms. Coord. fFor WV Citizen Action Group. “Tax minimums for millionaires and the elimination of zero-tax-paying loopholes for corporations are how we do this. They have financially benefited from our people’s labor, our nation’s infrastructure, and our economy. We need them to pay their fair share to help us all, as we continue to struggle with the effects of rising prices, increases in dangerous storms, record temperatures, drought, flooding, and more. We need Senator Manchin to fully embrace this now, as climate change is a now issue, a global issue. It’s not going away.”

“No matter our race or income, we want to live and raise our families in healthy and safe communities. Done right, the reconciliation bill is an opportunity to create bridges across our differences rather than making them deeper. Appalachia has been hit hard both by climate change impacts and global energy shifts – with Black and brown communities seeing disproportionate impacts. At the same time, we have an incredible opportunity to mitigate the climate crisis by investing in the communities hardest hit. Appalachian communities need action from Congress, this delay on key climate provisions not only hurts communities struggling with flooding and job loss due to the downturn of the coal industry, it pushes back other urgent actions we need to see from Congress,” said Dana Kuhnline, Campaign Manager for ReImagine Appalachia. 

“Promoting good energy legislation is part of Senator Manchin’s role as chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. We call on him to not further delay action on the issues he proclaims to champion. It’s past time to listen to the science that shows a transformational clean energy transition will mitigate climate change while saving lives and creating new jobs,” said Morgan King, climate campaign coordinator of WV Rivers Coalition.

PRESS ARE INVITED TO A MONDAY RALLY AT SEN. MANCHIN’S CHARLESTON OFFICE:

WV Citizen Action and other groups are calling on everyone who is concerned about passing robust Climate Change policy, and paying for it by making millionaires and tax-dodging corporations pay what they owe, to show up at Sen Manchin’s office at 900 Pennsylvania Ave., Charleston, WV 25302, at 5PM on Monday July 18th. If you can’t make it, call his office at  304-342-5855 and tell him to quit stalling on Climate and Taxes! For more info contact info@wvcag.org  Gary Zuckett @ 304-437-3701 or check out events on https://www.facebook.com/WVCAG 

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FOUNDED in 2020, the WEST VIRGINIA CLIMATE ALLIANCE is a broad-based coalition of almost 20 environmental organizations, faith-based, civil rights and civic organizations, and other groups with a focus on climate change. Members of the Alliance work together to provide science-based education on climate change to West Virginia citizens and policymakers. 

FOR MORE ON THE CLIMATE ALLIANCE, VISIT: WVClimateAlliance.org

(The AFSC WV Economic justice Project is a proud member of the WV Climate Alliance)

All talk?

 It's been a long and disappointing struggle over the last year to try to get WV Senator Joe Manchin to take positive action on human needs and climate. Now we're getting down to the wire. So many people have been let down, perhaps especially kids and parents who at least so far seem to have lost out on help with child care, paid leave, the refundable Child Tax Credit and more.

If there's any chance of salvaging anything in the federal budget reconciliation process, it might come down to coal miners. The federal Black Lung excise tax provides modest benefits for people struggling with that terrible disease--and it expired last year, leaving the long-term stability of the program in question. Extending it was part of the Build Back Better bill that got tanked by Manchin in December.

In West Virginia, politicians traditionally pretend to care about coal miners, although it seems like most of the real love goes to coal companies. Given all that rhetoric and theater, it seems like this is one thing that has to get across the line, which could open the way for more.

Yesterday, the National Black Lung Association held a press conference at the statue honoring miners at the state capitol calling on Manchin to come through for miners and their families via the reconciliation process. Fortunately, the press showed up, including the Charleston Gazette-Mail, WV Public Broadcasting, WV MetroNews, and even The Hill. More national stories may be in the works.

It seems like there is real pressure now for actions to match words. But I've been wrong before.

WV Groups call on Senator Manchin to Build Back Better

 For the last year, all eyes have been fixed on West Virginia, a state long economically exploited and stereotyped in the national media. In a narrowly divided Senate, our own Senator Joe Manchin would cast a deciding vote on groundbreaking policies that will affect millions of Americans for years to come.

With so much hanging in the balance, ordinary West Virginians mobilized as never before in support of a Build Back Better agenda that could revitalize our economic and community life. Many issues are riding on the outcome: Poverty, care for children and the elderly, health coverage, access to education, jobs, infrastructure, climate and more. While different groups and people  on the ground here had many priorities, we made a conscious effort not to be divided. 

We recognize the same people who gain from child and earned income tax credits need child care to work and help when sickness or disaster strikes. And that a changing climate makes us all look at the sky with a new fear.

When the outlines of the plan announced by President Biden were revealed, we celebrated. The Child Tax Credit alone has the potential to reduce child poverty by nearly half, doing for our children what Social Security has done for elderly Americans

Working parents constantly struggle to meet child care costs, which can exceed college tuition. Capping these expenses for families earning up to 250 percent of median family income would ensure quality care for around 20 million children while parents work or attend school. Improvements to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will expand home care for seniors and people with disabilities, extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and hold down premiums for many more.

We would get funding for Pell grants and job training programs. We could expand child nutrition programs. Additional investments in affordable housing will help stabilize and improve the quality of life for many families. The framework also represents the largest effort to confront the many threats of climate change in American history while rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and helping the Appalachian region transition to a more prosperous and sustainable economy.

We recognize that no deal will be possible without the vote of Senator Manchin and it’s time for him to make a commitment to support Build Back Better. We call on Senator Manchin, his colleagues in Congress, and the Senate to move to pass this transformative legislation.

This wouldn’t be the first time our senator has influenced national policy in the interests of ordinary Americans. In 2017, he helped preserve the Affordable Care Act when it was in danger of repeal, while opposing irresponsible tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy. He played a critical role in the passage of the American Rescue Plan earlier this year. We urge him to step up again for West Virginia and the nation. 

We regard the Build Back Better agenda as a major down payment for America’s future, one which we hope will eventually ensure a healthy and inclusive society in which all people can live a life with dignity and thrive. An ancient Chinese proverb says that “a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.” This is a good first step, with many more to come.

(Note: this statement was signed by a number of West Virginia organizations, including Young West Virginia, West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, West Virginia Citizen Action Group, Rattle the Windows, American Friends Service Committee West Virginia, Community Change, TEAM for West Virginia Children, National Association of Social Workers West Virginia Chapter, Race Matters West Virginia.)

Child Tax Credit should help those who need it most

 Imagine developing a powerful medicine that could dramatically reduce human suffering, and then denying it to those who need it most.

Unfortunately, something like that could happen, with legislation now under consideration in Washington. The “medicine” is the expanded child tax credit that was passed as part of the American Rescue Plan and that went into effect in July and could expire at the end of the year, unless action is taken.

The child tax credit covers nearly all American children, including about 346,000 in West Virginia. And that’s a good thing. When the first installment of the refundable credit went out for the first time on July 15, the Census Bureau found that food insecurity in households with children immediately dropped by about 25%.

Probably the greatest thing about the child tax credit is its broad reach. By covering so many families, it could do for kids what Social Security did for elderly Americans. Before Social Security became a thing, poverty rates were high for older Americans. In 1969, for example, more than a third of older Americans experienced poverty. By the end of the century, the rate had dropped to less than 10%.

Without Social Security today, the poverty rate for the elderly would climb to nearly 40%, but it also makes life easier for millions of families living above the poverty line. That’s one reason why it’s so popular.

The child tax credit can do the same for our children. It has the potential not only to help working families but also to reduce child poverty by nearly half. However, that will happen only if it is extended and if it doesn’t exclude those families living in deepest poverty.

It’s kind of like the flip side of the old story about asking a bank robber why he robbed banks. He answered, “That’s where the money is.” If you want to reduce child poverty and the lifelong damage it can do, you need to go where the money isn’t.

Any measure that would impose income requirements to qualify for an extended child tax credit would undo its most beneficial effects by leaving out those with little or no income.

One population that could be hit hard by income and employment requirements is households with grandparents and other seniors raising children. According to the Census Bureau, in 2019 — before the COVID-19 recession — West Virginia was among the top five states where grandparents were responsible for taking care of children. We’re mostly talking about retirees, although anyone who has raised children knows that is work.

According to a news report from Clarksburg’s WBOY, “More than half of grandparents in West Virginia who live with their grandchildren who are 18 or younger are responsible for them, according to the 2019 U.S. Census numbers, making West Virginia the second in the nation for grandparents raising grandchildren.” The numbers have gone up since then.

According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, slightly over half of state children in foster care are in a formal or informal kinship/relative home, with much of the weight carried by seniors.

Another group that could miss out is people with disabilities or those who care for them, a group that overlaps to some degree with seniors. In 2019, about one in five West Virginians (nearly 350,000) had some type of disability. For people over age 65, the figure is about 40%. In 2017, 37% of working-age West Virginians with disabilities, i.e., those most likely to have children, lived in poverty.

Then there are parents and kids in domestic violence situations, which have been described as “intimate terrorism.” Among a host of bad things, this can keep people from meeting income and employment requirements for reasons of either power and control or personal and family safety.

According to Futures Without Violence, a national nonprofit advocacy group, “About one in four women experience intimate partner violence over their lifetime and reported some related impact.” Women between the ages of 18 and 24, prime childbearing years, suffer the highest rates of intimate partner violence.

The group also notes: “Increased financial security also gives survivors of domestic violence more options for safety for themselves and their children, such as living independently from an abusive partner.” Too often, people stay with abusive partners because they lack financial resources to support themselves and their children. Fully 74% of women in those situations reported staying in an abusive environment because they lacked financial resources according to a 2012 survey.

The Resource Center on Domestic Violence: Child Protection and Custody reports: “One researcher has estimated conservatively that at least 10 to 20% of children are exposed to intimate partner violence annually, with as many as one-third exposed at some point during childhood or adolescence.”

Nobody wins by denying benefits to people who are too terrorized to hold a job.

Aside from those situations, there also are people simply with very low incomes, those who have lost work because of the pandemic and seasonal workers in industries like tourism, one of our few growing economic sectors.

The beauty of the child tax credit is that it benefits a wide range of families with children. That needs to stay. But we shouldn’t leave anyone behind, especially those who would gain the most.

(This ran as an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail.)