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| Company type | Families USA Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)3 organization |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981 |
| Headquarters | Washington D.C. |
Key people | Frederick Isasi (Executive Director) |
| Revenue | 3,172,965 United States dollar (2016)  |
| Website | familiesusa |
Families USA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer health advocacy and policy organization.
Technology entrepreneur Philippe Villers and his wife Kate [1] co-founded Families USA in 1981. [2] Families USA's advocacy in Washington, D.C., has influenced health care legislation and policy, including the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, [3] federal and state legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, [4] the Affordable Care Act (ACA), [5] [6] defending against efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, [7] and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). [8]
In 2014, National Journal named Pollack one of the top 25 players in Congress, the Administration, and the lobbying community on Medicare prescription drug benefits. [9]
President Barack Obama credited Families USA with playing an instrumental role in promoting the enactment of the ACA and for the organization’s work in helping to implement and protect the historic health legislation. [10] On a printed copy of the ACA displayed in Families USA’s office, Obama wrote, “To Ron and Families USA – You made this happen!” [11]
In 2017, Frederick Isasi was appointed Executive Director of Families USA. [12] [13] He took over the executive director role from Ron Pollack, the organization's founding executive director [14] and leader for almost 35 years. [15] Isasi has testified before Congress on issues including health care costs, payment and delivery reform, [16] and healthcare coverage. [17] [18]
On November 23, 2016, Vanity Fair reported that shortly after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, Families USA held a conference call with organizations from around the country to discuss efforts to prevent the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and formed the Protect Our Care coalition. [19] [7]
Ron Pollack, also a co-founder, became executive director of the organization, [20] a role he filled until 2017. [21]
The Hill named Pollack one of the nine top nonprofit lobbyists in 2010. [22]
The New York Times has described Families USA as a "nonpartisan consumer advocacy group" and [23] advocates for public policy [24] and research. [25] It has been involved in state-by-state campaigns to address the Medicaid coverage gap among low-income Americans, supporting legislative strategies [26] [27] and producing analysis documenting the benefits of extending health coverage. [28]
The organization has organized several structured dialogues on key health care issues among diverse stakeholder organization leaders, including those representing insurers, hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, business, labor, and consumers. One such dialogue led to the creation of the Campaign for Children’s Health Care, which successfully pushed to extend CHIP. [29] Another set of dialogues sought and achieved common ground on extending health coverage to the uninsured. [30] A more recent dialogue developed proposals for promoting increased quality care at lower costs. [30]
Families USA's organization includes the National Center for Coverage Innovation (NCCI) [31] which advocates for measures to expand access to healthcare coverage. [32]
In the United States, Medicaid is a government program that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by state governments, which also have wide latitude in determining eligibility and benefits, but the federal government sets baseline standards for state Medicaid programs and provides a significant portion of their funding.
Medicare is a federal health insurance program in the United States for people age 65 or older and younger people with disabilities, including those with end stage renal disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It was begun in 1965 under the Social Security Administration (SSA) and is now administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
A Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) is a reimbursement designation from the Bureau of Primary Health Care and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. This designation is significant for several health programs funded under the Health Center Consolidation Act.
Health care prices in the United States of America describe market and non-market factors that determine pricing, along with possible causes as to why prices are higher than in other countries.
The Massachusetts health care reform, commonly referred to as Romneycare, was a healthcare reform law passed in 2006 and signed into law by Governor Mitt Romney with the aim of providing health insurance to nearly all of the residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
AHIP is an American political advocacy and trade association of health insurance companies that offer coverage through the employer-provided, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid managed care, and individual markets.
Centene Corporation is a publicly traded managed care company based in St. Louis, Missouri, which is an intermediary for government-sponsored and privately insured healthcare programs. Centene ranked No. 25 on the 2023 Fortune 500.
In the United States, health insurance helps pay for medical expenses through privately purchased insurance, social insurance, or a social welfare program funded by the government. Synonyms for this usage include "health coverage", "health care coverage", and "health benefits". In a more technical sense, the term "health insurance" is used to describe any form of insurance providing protection against the costs of medical services. This usage includes both private insurance programs and social insurance programs such as Medicare, which pools resources and spreads the financial risk associated with major medical expenses across the entire population to protect everyone, as well as social welfare programs like Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, which both provide assistance to people who cannot afford health coverage.
Healthcare reform in the United States has a long history. Reforms have often been proposed but have rarely been accomplished. In 2010, landmark reform was passed through two federal statutes: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), signed March 23, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which amended the PPACA and became law on March 30, 2010.
In the United States, health insurance coverage is provided by several public and private sources. During 2019, the U.S. population overall was approximately 330 million, with 59 million people 65 years of age and over covered by the federal Medicare program. The 273 million non-institutionalized persons under age 65 either obtained their coverage from employer-based or non-employer based sources, or were uninsured. During the year 2019, 89% of the non-institutionalized population had health insurance coverage. Separately, approximately 12 million military personnel received coverage through the Veteran's Administration and Military Health System.
In the United States, health insurance marketplaces, also called health exchanges, are organizations in each state through which people can purchase health insurance. People can purchase health insurance that complies with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at ACA health exchanges, where they can choose from a range of government-regulated and standardized health care plans offered by the insurers participating in the exchange.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Together with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 amendment, it represents the U.S. healthcare system's most significant regulatory overhaul and expansion of coverage since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.
Healthcare in the United States is largely provided by private sector healthcare facilities, and paid for by a combination of public programs, private insurance, and out-of-pocket payments. The U.S. is the only developed country without a system of universal healthcare, and a significant proportion of its population lacks health insurance.
Health care finance in the United States discusses how Americans obtain and pay for their healthcare, and why U.S. healthcare costs are the highest in the world based on various measures.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is divided into 10 titles and contains provisions that became effective immediately, 90 days after enactment, and six months after enactment, as well as provisions phased in through to 2020. Below are some of the key provisions of the ACA. For simplicity, the amendments in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 are integrated into this timeline.
The Better Medicare Alliance (BMA) is an American 501(c)(4) non-profit advocacy coalition that supports sustaining and improving Medicare Advantage, a private health insurance option available to Medicare beneficiaries.
A safety net hospital is a type of medical center in the United States that by legal obligation or mission provides healthcare for individuals regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. This legal mandate forces safety net hospitals (SNHs) to serve all populations. Such hospitals typically serve a proportionately higher number of uninsured, Medicaid, Medicare, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHiP), low-income, and other vulnerable individuals than their "non-safety net hospital" counterpart. Safety net hospitals are not defined by their ownership terms; they can be either publicly or privately owned. The mission of safety net hospitals is rather to provide the best possible care for those who are barred from health care due to the various possible adverse circumstances. These circumstances mostly revolve around problems with financial payments, insurance plans, or health conditions. Safety net hospitals are known for maintaining an open-door policy for their services.
In the context of American public healthcare policy, the Medicaid coverage gap refers to uninsured people who do not qualify for marketplace assistance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and reside in states that have not adopted Medicaid expansion under the ACA. People within this categorization have incomes above the eligibility limits for Medicaid set by their state of residence but fall below the federal poverty line (FPL), resulting in deficient access to affordable health insurance. As of March 2023, an estimated 1.9 million Americans in 10 states are within the Medicaid coverage gap according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Approximately 97 percent of this cohort lives in the Southern U.S., with a majority living in Texas and Florida; Texas has the largest population of people in the cohort, accounting for 41 percent of people in the coverage gap.
Seema Verma is a General Manager and Senior Vice President at Oracle Corporation. She is the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the Donald Trump administration. During her tenure, she was involved in efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, as well as reduce Medicaid benefits and increase restrictions on Medicaid. She was embroiled in ethics and legal controversies related to her use of taxpayer money while in office.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often shortened to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or nicknamed Obamacare, is a United States federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Together with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 amendment, it represents the U.S. healthcare system's most significant regulatory overhaul and expansion of coverage since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Once the law was signed, provisions began taking effect, in a process that continued for years. Some provisions never took effect, while others were deferred for various periods.