BEYOND THE NUMBERS
In Case You Missed It...
This week at CBPP, we focused on health, food assistance, housing, state budgets and taxes, poverty and inequality, and the economy.
- On health, Laura Harker emphasized how closing the Medicaid coverage gap is a crucial step for advancing health and economic justice, and we highlighted the findings in a blog. Jennifer Sullivan, Miriam Pearsall, and Anna Bailey highlighted why closing the coverage gap is key to improving behavioral health. Kyle Hayes explained how eliminating structural barriers can improve Latino people’s access to health coverage, in English and Spanish.
- On food assistance, we updated our guide to SNAP eligibility and benefits and fact sheet on how states are using their temporary flexibility in SNAP to respond to COVID-19 challenges. Lauren Hall and Zoë Neuberger updated their report showing that many eligible low-income children missed out on crucial WIC benefits during the pandemic. We also updated our interactive comparing changes in WIC, Medicaid, and SNAP participation by state.
- On housing, Sonya Acosta and Brianna Guerrero highlighted how long waitlists for housing vouchers show a pressing unmet need for assistance.
- On state budgets and taxes, Ed Lazere described how states should use federal relief funds to jumpstart long-term investments in a better, more equitable future, and we summarized the paper with an infographic.
- On poverty and inequality, we updated our COVID-19 hardship tracker, which analyzes the recession’s effects on food, housing, and employment hardships.
- On the economy, we updated our chart book tracking the post-Great Recession economy. We also updated our backgrounders on how many weeks of unemployment compensation are currently available and on unemployment insurance.
Chart of the Week – Closing Coverage Gap a Crucial Step for Health Equity in Rural Communities of Color
Rural Hospital Closures Affecting Communities of Color
Share of non-white population by county and sites of recent rural hospital closures
Notes: Ga. and S.C. are among the ten states with the most rural hospital closures since 2010; all but two (Mo. and Okla.) have refused to expand Medicaid (and those two expanded in 2021).
The median number of rural hospital beds is 25, according to UNC Sheps Center data from 2015, the latest available.
Source: CBPP analysis using data on rural hospital closures from the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, and county population information from American Community Survey 2019 5-year estimates.
A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts this past week. Here are some of the highlights:
Can Biden Deliver on His Promise to Expand Housing Vouchers?
Bloomberg
October 7, 2021
Democrats' moral Medicaid dilemma
Axios
October 6, 2021
What the Debt Ceiling Means for Social Security and More
New York Times
October 6, 2021
Stronger estate tax would hit more inheritances under Democrats’ plan
Yahoo Money
October 2, 2021
Food stamps set for historic boost in October
CBS News
October 1, 2021
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