The Trump administration's plan to change the poverty line would hurt pople who need help the most
For decades our country has suffered from systemic inequality and racial segregation that continues to prevent millions of African Americans from gaining access to new opportunities. Now, President Trump is once again attempting to rob African American communities of basic assistance, access to education and quality health care.
The Trump administration is on the verge of making an end run around Congress by attempting to change the federal poverty line. In a recently released proposal, the administration would change how inflation is used to calculate the official federal definition of poverty used by the U.S. Census Bureau to estimate the size of the country’s poor population. This is clearly another attempt to cut people with low- or moderate-income off of government assistance. If successful, the Trump administration would single handedly cause millions of Americans across the nation to lose their eligibility for, or a decrease in, help from health care services, food assistance programs such, as SNAP, and other programs that help working families reach their basic needs.
In health care, the federal poverty level (FPL) income numbers from the previous year are used to calculate an individual’s or family’s eligibility for certain programs and benefits. This includes savings on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace health insurance plans, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage. By considering lowering the inflation measure to calculate annual adjustments to the FPL, the administration is putting a bullseye on low-income Americans, African Americans who tend to have a low- or moderate-income, seniors, and people with disabilities.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, after ten years, more than 250,000 seniors and people with disabilities would lose eligibility for, or see a large decrease in, help from Medicare’s Part D Low-Income Subsidy program. If you’re wondering what that means, let us explain. If President Trump rolls back this guidance, our seniors and people with disabilities would pay higher premiums for their prescription drugs and could pay premiums of over $1,500 per year for their health care coverage.
https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/449932-the-trump-administrations-plan-to-change-the-poverty-line-would
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