John,

On Tuesday, the Census Bureau released the 2024 data on poverty, income, and health insurance and it only confirms what we already know: things are about to get worse for marginalized communities. Read more about the national poverty and health data in our brand new First Look 2024: Federal Cuts to Basic Needs Programs Prevent Progress and Threaten More Uninsured.

And later today, the Census Bureau will release important local data from their American Community Survey¹, which can help us better understand the needs in our states and local communities—and communicate those needs to decisionmakers.

While we see slight progress across some areas thanks to previous investments made by Congress, all of that will be wiped out thanks to the recently passed Big Brutal Bill that cut Medicaid and SNAP by nearly $1 trillion, and didn’t extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits, which is already driving up health premium costs² and is expected to result in more than 4 million people losing their health insurance.

The reversals of that previous progress tell us this: good policies help people; cuts and restrictions hurt them. At the end of this year, if Congress does not act, the enhanced ACA credits will end. The Congressional Budget Office projects that 4.2 million more people will be uninsured by 2034 if this reduction takes effect³—on top of the millions more who will lose coverage because of Medicaid cuts and other harms of the Big Brutal Budget.

We know that good policy lifts communities out of poverty. But the reverse is also true.

Together, we’re fighting for policies that expand access to health care and nutrition for working people and vulnerable communities. Yesterday, we received federal data on poverty, income, and health insurance. Tomorrow, we’ll receive state and local data that is expected to further illustrate the need for investments in our communities.

Donate $5 today to power our advocacy and activism that is demanding Congress put everyday people ahead of billionaires and corporations.

SNAP food assistance and school lunch programs were lifting more people out of poverty until improvements made during the pandemic were reduced.  

A year ago, 12 percent of people said that their households sometimes or often did not have enough to eat in the past 7 days—that was up from 8 percent in 2021, when people were getting help from the Child Tax Credit expansion and more SNAP benefits, and food prices were not yet rising.⁴

Thanks to the Big Brutal Bill that was passed this summer, $187 billion of SNAP will be cut over a 10 year period—the largest cut in the program’s history; it will affect 40 million people, including 16 million children.⁵

The decisions of policymakers have huge implications on our lives. These decisions can determine if communities thrive or are punished for no other reason than to create more wealth for the rich.

Donate to CHN today to power our advocacy for everyday people and vulnerable communities in the halls of Congress.

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Thank you for all you do,

Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, Coalition on Human Needs

P.S. Read our brand new First Look brief that goes into more detail about this week’s Census Bureau report.

¹ Data will be posted on the Census Bureau: American Community Survey Data Releases and you can explore the ACS data via this Census Bureau tool  
² Why your health insurance copays, deductibles and premiums will probably surge next year
³ CBO emails re House Energy and Commerce Committee reconciliation scores
⁴ Household Pulse Survey: Food Scarcity
⁵ By the Numbers: Harmful Republican Megabill Takes Food Assistance Away From Millions of People

-- DEBORAH'S EMAIL --

John,

Last week, we held a webinar to train hundreds of folks on how to use the Census Bureau data on poverty, income, and health insurance to advocate for human needs. Those new findings were released yesterday, and we wanted to help advocates be ready to use them.

We know Congress and the President have made policy choices that, if left unchanged, will sharply cut funding and benefits for basic needs programs. So it’s especially important to show how earlier policy improvements helped reduce poverty and the number of people without health insurance—and build on that vision to ensure that people can meet their basic needs and thrive.

The new Census data show that the huge, impending Big Brutal cuts will do significant damage to our communities.

Take a look at our First Look fact sheet, which shows the impact of basic needs programs and the inequities we must address in the months and years ahead. Here’s just one example of news we need to use: from 2023 to 2024, more than 3.2 million people lost Medicaid, many because they couldn’t manage red tape requirements to prove their continuing eligibility. These findings are a stark warning that the hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts just enacted will result in more red tape that will drive millions more out of Medicaid.

CHN is empowering our national partners and everyday people to fight back against draconian cuts that hurt millions. We’re working alongside our allies in Congress to demand policies that support low-income families and strengthen our communities. None of this is possible without your support.

Donate $5 today to power and expand these advocacy efforts to defend vulnerable people from draconian cuts.

The year before the Child Tax Credit was expanded, 7.2 million children lived in poverty. In 2021, the one year when the CTC expansion was in place, the number of poor children plunged to 3.8 million—a nearly 50% reduction.¹ But after Congress let the expanded Child Tax Credit expire, and allowed a reduction in SNAP benefits as well, child poverty shot back up, year after year.  

With cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act looming, we are on the cusp of an explosion of inequity. At the same time, jobs are being lost and prices for food and housing remain high. The Big Brutal Law will make all of this far worse for millions of people.

Together, we’re fighting back against policies that hurt vulnerable communities. And we need you with us in this fight.

Donate $5 today to power our advocacy—including our activism, trainings, and research—which are critical to demanding lawmakers side with the people, not millionaires, billionaires, and corporations.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

P.S. Take a look at our First Look facts about poverty, income, and health insurance, showing more detail from the new Census Bureau report.

¹ 2024 Poverty Rates in Historical Perspective