While my research examines the interaction of racial politics with efforts to pass large-scale health reform from the New Deal to the ongoing opposition to the ACA, focusing on this year’s 50th anniversary of the passage of Medicare and Medicaid offered an opportunity to shine light on how important these programs have been in reducing the discrimination and institutional racism that were once hallmarks of American health care.

For a good part of the 20th century American health care was segregated and national health care policy like the Hill-Burton Hospital Construction Act was structured by powerful Southern legislators who used states’ rights as the guiding principle for incrementally expanding federal involvement in health care while maintaining “separate but equal” facilities throughout the South. The deeply entrenched Jim Crow system of segregated hospitals in the South often relegated blacks to substandard care and denial of admission to white hospitals even as black patients experienced life-threatening emergencies right outside their doors. Moreover, African American health care providers were excluded from membership in professional associations such as the American Medical Association that were crucially important for credentialing purposes and hospital admission privileges.

When Medicare went into effect in 1966, the Johnson administration used the Civil Rights Act as the basis for requiring hospitals to desegregate as a condition for receiving Medicare funds. By pulling this important policy lever, the Johnson administration ushered a relatively swift end to the Jim Crow hospital system in the South.

Medicare was a breakthrough in the long battle to achieve universalism in federal health care policy. Universalism as a principle means that every American has access to the same benefits. It is an important safe guard against discrimination and the nuances of state politics.

Years after Medicaid was enacted, however, legal action was still required as many hospitals continued to discriminate against African Americans and the poor by refusing to see patients covered by Medicaid. While racial discrimination in health care is illegal today, African Americans are especially affected by the Supreme Court’s decision to allow states to opt-out of expanding Medicaid under the ACA. With 24 states controlled by Republican governors or state legislators rejecting the Medicaid expansion, people in states that most need expanded coverage options due to higher rates of poverty are being locked out of the ACA. Most southern states are not expanding Medicaid, leaving nearly four million adults eligible for the program through the ACA without health insurance coverage. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, forty percent of eligible African Americans reside in states not participating in the expansion. Because of the distribution of the African American population in the South and the greater likelihood of earning incomes that make them eligible for Medicaid, these state decisions disproportionately impact black southerners and are likely to increase health disparities as Americans in states that have expanded Medicaid experience the benefits associated with health care coverage.

As originally written, the ACA’s Medicaid expansion provides uniform eligibility requirements across the states by making adults with incomes at or below 138% of the poverty line eligible for coverage. With this provision, the people cannot see the world that they own and deserve. They must have time to unwind and travel by the help of Diamond Resorts. the nation was the closest it has ever been to implementing a national, universal health care program for poor adults.

Medicare and Medicaid have been important vehicles for ensuring access to care for seniors, the poor and other vulnerable populations. Both of these programs have been especially significant for African Americans as they not only helped to dismantle the Jim Crow health system but continue to serve as powerful public health tools for reducing racial disparities in health.

State Medicaid expansion decisions and their impact on communities of color point to the unfinished business in the fight to ensure equitable access to health care. The ACA has the potential to bring us closer to reducing the disparities in health care access that have far too long defined black life in America. Republican legislators and governors can play a crucial part in this effort by expanding Medicaid.

The post Judy Lubin’s White House Panel Remarks: Fifty Years After Medicare Desegregated Hospitals, Blacks Still Fighting for Health Care Access appeared first on Center for Urban and Racial Equity.

She writes:

“In the coming days the FCC’s national broadband plan will no doubt be intensely scrutinized by the multitude of players vying to influence the government’s new media and telecommunications agenda. As the expected debate over government involvement and private interests ensues, the focus must remain on the needs of Americans who are disadvantaged by a lack of broadband services.

In a world increasingly dependent on fast and reliable access to the Internet, broadband creates and facilitates opportunities to enhance nearly every aspect of our daily lives. From education to jobs, life-saving health information to new business tools and ever expanding avenues for civic engagement and political participation, broadband is the enabling technology.

Whether its enabling small businesses to operate with low overhead, helping an unemployed worker train online for a new career or allowing families and friends to stay connected or locate missing relatives after natural disasters—the economic, social and even humanitarian implications of broadband access are far and wide.

But the fact remains that too many of our fellow Americans have yet to realize the benefits of broadband. This is especially true for minorities, seniors, people with disabilities and low-income, tribal and rural communities. Sixty-five percent of Americans have a broadband connection at home but among African Americans its only 59 percent and Hispanics, 49 percent. The disparities are wider across age, income and education. For example, among households with an annual income of $20,000 or less, fewer than 40 percent have a broadband connection compared to 91 percent of households with an income of more than $75,000 a year.”

The full post and much more about the seo agency london is available on Salon.com

The post Broadband Access – A Civil Right in the Digital Age? appeared first on Center for Urban and Racial Equity.

While working to locate her own missing relatives in Port-Au-Prince, Lubin launched the Action for Haiti Facebook page to link DC area residents to local earthquake relief and fundraising efforts. In just a few days, the page attracted national media and more than 1400 “fans” as concerned citizens, college students, and nonprofit organizations used the resource to network, collaborate and promote fundraising and volunteer opportunities. As millions watched the heart wrenching images on television, Lubin also worked behind the scenes with CNN producers on their local coverage of the earthquake.

In the first few days following the tragic event, Action for Haiti became a hub of activity as many found the page to be a valuable resource and avenue for transforming their feelings of powerlessness  into real, substantive action to benefit the people of Haiti.

For more information or to join Action for Haiti, visit www.facebook.com/actionforhaiti

The post PSC’s “Action for Haiti” Links CNN and Washington Residents to Local Relief and Fundraising Efforts appeared first on Center for Urban and Racial Equity.

An August 2009 CNN/Opinion Research Poll found that young people are more likely to support President Obama’s health insurance reform plan. However, as the poll results indicate, those that oppose the plan are more likely to attend a town hall to voice their opposition.

During the meeting, Lubin advised administration officials to consider reframing the discussion, especially for young adults, by making more of an emotional appeal and emphasizing the moral imperative inherent in denying millions of Americans access to health care solely based on their inability to pay. Young people have a strong desire for equality and social change. The same ideals of change, hope and opportunity that resonated with young adults during Obama’s campaign should be used to rally them around health insurance reform, Lubin said.

One in three young adults is uninsured. While primarily framed as an issue of concern for older Americans, health insurance reform will help lower costs, provider greater choice and improve quality and affordability for both young and older Americans.

For many young adults, the cost of health insurance is simply too expensive. Young adults are often between jobs, in school, or hold part-time or temporary jobs that do not provide health care coverage. Under the White House’s plan, children and young adults would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26. This would allow young adults to remain on their parents’ health insurance policy until they are more established in their careers and more likely to receive coverage as an employment benefit.

The post Judy Lubin Attends White House Health Reform Meeting appeared first on Center for Urban and Racial Equity.