Healthcare and Medicaid

Changing the Narrative to Change the Policy: Ending Hunger in America

2022

This brief represents the insight and expertise of people with lived experience and their solutions to address poverty and hunger in America.

Policy Solutions to End Hunger in America: Calling on the White House for Radical Strategy Change

2022

This policy brief outlines the solutions necessary to make true and lasting change regarding food insecurity and diet-related health through both specific programmatic changes and larger-scale philosophical shifts.

Challenges and Solutions to Public Assistance System Alignment: How Trauma-informed Programming Unveiled Barriers to Aligning TANF and Medicaid

2021

Cross-sector collaboration and systems alignment in public benefit systems can improve the effectiveness of these programs, address social determinants of health, improve family well-being, and create a more equitable society. This brief highlights a number of challenges identified in aligning public benefits such as TANF and Medicare and offers proposed solutions to address them.

Minimum Wage is Not Enough: A True Living Wage is Necessary to Reduce Poverty and Improve Health

2021

The federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 per hour for more than 12 years. While the U.S. minimum wage was never truly a living wage, over time it has done less to reflect the true value of workers and no longer supports families in a way that promotes health and keeps them out of poverty. Many arguments have been made against raising the federal minimum wage. This brief lays out the clear benefits to individual workers, businesses, and the community that outweigh the potential challenges that will arise from providing a living wage to all workers.

Aligning Systems to Build a Culture of Health: Integrating TANF and Medicaid to Achieve Wealth and Health

2018

Public support programs that aim to improve employment and financial wellbeing should be better coordinated to provide more effective services and reduce costs. This Building Wealth and Health Network brief demonstrates the effectiveness of integrating behavioral health components into financial programming.

From Disparities to Discrimination: Getting at the Roots of Food Insecurity

2018

In this 2018 report, research from Children HealthWatch in Philadelphia documents differences in food insecurity in relation to experiences with racial and ethnic discrimination. Additional briefs spotlight the discrimination experienced in public, healthcare, school, work, and criminal justice system.

Affordable Health Care Keeps Children and Families Healthy

2009

This Children's HealthWatch report presents that the health of young children is negatively impacted when parents cannot afford healthcare for themselves or or when parents have to forego payment of household expenses in order to pay for healthcare.