June Health News
Summer Meal Program:
40 Years of Summer Meals
More than 21 million American children and teens depend on free or reduced-price school meals during the school year, and when school cafeterias close, many of them lose their most important source of balanced nutrition and are at risk of going hungry.
According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, “For 40 years, USDA has supported summer meal programs that keep children in low-income communities active and engaged when school is out, while providing critical nutrition and reducing the learning loss that often occurs during the summer months.”
This year, USDA hopes to serve an additional 13 million meals to meet our challenge of serving 200 million meals to children nationwide.
To locate sites serving summer meals throughout the country in Spanish and English please click here
The Affordable Care Act:
LULAC Applauds King v. Burwell Decision Protecting Healthcare Coverage for Millions of Americans
LULAC National Executive Director, Brent Wilkes states, “The Supreme Court decision ensures that Americans receive federal subsidies to purchase insurance plans in the federal marketplace. Specific to the Latino community, the decision means that the 2.6 million Latinos who have gained coverage since 2013 will be able to keep their subsidies.
Moving forward we urge members of Congress and state and community leaders to cease their attacks on the Affordable Care Act. Furthermore, we urge all Americans to take advantage of the opportunity for quality affordable health care coverage and enroll for health insurance.”
Read the full press release here
The Program Hits 2015 Enrollment Goal
More than 12.2 million people nationwide have Medicaid coverage
According to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell, "The Health Insurance Marketplaces are working, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans now rely on the health and financial security that comes from affordable coverage through the Marketplaces. We’ve seen a historic reduction in the uninsured and consumers are finding the coverage they need at a price they can afford.”
Nearly 8.7 million people nationwide received an average tax credit of $272 per month to make their health coverage more affordable.
Read the full CMS press release here
The Consequences of State Decisions not to Expand Medicaid
The White House Council of Economic Advisers released estimates of the health and economic benefits if states decide to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act
According to the report, since the law’s major coverage provisions took effect at the start of 2014, the Nation has seen the sharpest reduction in the uninsured rate since the decade following the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, and the Nation’s uninsured rate now stands at its lowest level ever.
At the same time, by expanding Medicaid, States can pull billions in additional Federal funding into their economies every year. This analysis estimates that if the 22 States that have not yet expanded Medicaid did so, States would receive an additional $29 billion in net Federal spending in 2016 if expanded coverage was fully in effect
For more information on the CEA report please click here
What ACA is Doing for TX , FL, and CA Families
Gallup recently estimated that the uninsured rate in Texas in 2014 was 24%, down from 27% 2013.
Expands Medicaid to all non-eligible adults with incomes under 133% of the federal poverty level. If Florida expands Medicaid, an additional 750,000 uninsured people would gain coverage.
Prohibits coverage denials and reduced benefits, protecting as many as 16,133 Californians who have some type of pre-existing health condition, including 2,236 children.
Advocacy
FDA Bans Artificial Trans Fats in Processed Foods
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today finalized its determination that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, are not “generally recognized as safe” or GRAS for use in human food. Food manufacturers will have three years to remove PHOs from products.
“Studies show that diet and nutrition play a key role in preventing chronic health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and today’s action goes hand in hand with other FDA initiatives to improve the health of Americans, including updating the nutrition facts label,” said Susan Mayne, Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
Read the full press released on Trans Fat here
Prepared by Jenifer Silva, LULAC National Health Program and Advocacy Intern