In Case You Missed It...

| By CBPP

This week at CBPP, we focused on state budgets, health, food assistance, and Social Security.

On state budgets, Wesley Tharpe, Clara Wilson, and Joanna LeFebvre emphasized the need for states to protect and raise revenue to help mitigate the effects of the harmful Republican megabill and state budget pressures.
On health, Nicole Rapfogel pointed out that health savings accounts (HSAs) are not a substitute for quality health coverage and may even cost more when families with low and moderate incomes face unexpected medical bills. Farah Erzouki explained how states can protect Medicaid access for people with the greatest health needs by making proactive choices in how they implement medical frailty work requirement exemptions. Elizabeth Zhang underscored the importance of Medicaid in providing health coverage to key populations, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities.
On food assistance, Dottie Rosenbaum, Joseph Llobrera, Catlin Nchako, and Luis Nuñez updated their paper explaining the benefits of SNAP’s broad-based categorical eligibility policy, which allows states to broaden SNAP eligibility and better support millions of people, as the Trump Administration seeks to eliminate it.
On Social Security, Kathleen Romig updated her paper highlighting the vital role Social Security benefits play in reducing poverty across every state.

The Center was active on social media recently. Here are some of our posts:

CBPP posted a roundup to Instagram highlighting real-time analysis from Center experts during the President’s State of the Union speech.
Sharon Parrott posted a thread to X and Bluesky ahead of the State of the Union address, detailing the extreme measures taken by the Trump Administration last year and how to undo the harm that has made it harder for families to afford to meet their basic needs.
Sarah Lueck posted a thread to X and Bluesky on how the Republican health agenda will leave millions of people without health coverage.
Katie Bergh posted a thread to X and Bluesky on preliminary USDA data showing about 700,000 fewer low-income people received SNAP benefits in November than in October last year, likely due to disruptions from the shutdown and the Republican megabill’s deep SNAP cuts starting to take effect.
Nicole Rapfogel posted a thread to Bluesky explaining why HSAs are not a good alternative to comprehensive health coverage and can be harmful for people with low incomes.
Will Fischer posted a thread to X detailing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed rule allowing housing agencies and owners to take rental assistance away from families who reach arbitrary time limits or can’t meet rigid work requirements.

A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts recently. Here are some highlights:

Don’t miss any of our posts, papers, or charts — follow us on Bluesky, X, Facebook, Threads, and Instagram.

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