A coalition of nine civil rights and healthcare advocacy organizations released a report Wednesday warning that federal funding cuts and new enrollment barriers will cause historic health insurance losses across the U.S., according to a news release shared with Becker’s.
The report, “Seamless, Accountable and Fair: A Civil Rights Agenda for Reconstructing Insurance Affordability Programs,” draws on Congressional Budget Office projections that cuts under HR 1 — combined with the failure to extend ACA tax credits — will leave nearly 15 million Americans uninsured by 2034. The coalition estimates 60% of those newly uninsured will come from communities of color.
The coalition, which includes the NAACP, UnidosUS, the National Urban League, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, the Southern Poverty Law Center and four other organizations, calls for three core reforms: automatic enrollment based on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation and tax data, stronger agency accountability for coverage denials and ACA coverage for adults below the poverty line in states that have not expanded Medicaid.
“The attack on healthcare access is also an attack on civil rights,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP. “We have already seen millions lose coverage because of paperwork and bureaucratic obstacles rather than ineligibility.”
Juliet Choi, president and CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, noted that two-thirds of uninsured Americans already come from historically underserved communities, and warned that every increase in the coverage gap deepens existing inequities.
The coalition is urging legislators and federal agencies to act before coverage losses accelerate further.
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