By  CAP Action War Room

Arkansas Republicans May Take Away Health Insurance From 100,000 People

Republicans in Arkansas are actively considering a plan to take away health coverage from tens of thousands of low-income people who just obtained insurance thanks to Obamacare.

Conservative Republicans in the state legislature have gotten reticent about approving a funding bill extending a program that has already signed almost 100,000 up for insurance coverage and expects to eventually help as many as 250,000 in total. It’s now unclear if the program will actually move forward, and if it does, it will not do so unscathed.

A bit of background. It’s in every state’s best interest to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, not only for the health of its residents but also for the strength of its economy. Still, 19 Republican-controlled state governments have all decided to put politics before people and refuse to accept federal funding for the expansion of health insurance coverage to low-income working people, with six more dragging their feet.

A recent study found that approximately six million Americans will be stuck without any health coverage at all because of this partisan refusal to expand Medicaid.

Arkansas, a state with a Democratic governor and Republican state legislature, developed a compromise last year that was heralded as a potential path forward for many conservatives against expanding the government program. The state decided that it would take the federal funds designated in the law for expanding Medicaid and use them to help low-income residents buy insurance on the private exchange. Since then, almost 100,000 Arkansas residents have signed up for the program to get covered. Other states have followed suit with similar models.

But that has almost been undone as some Republican legislators refuse to vote for the appropriations bill that would extend financing to the program for another year.

Lawmakers are working to find a compromise to save a program that was already a compromise itself — but details so far indicate that it’s far from perfect. One legislator very clearly traded her vote to get funding for a pet interest. Another, Rep. Nate Bell (R), offered an amendment that extends the private option but explicitly bans the state from doing any outreach on it. Bell, in his own words: “We’re trying to create a barrier to enrollment.” Inspiring stuff, right there.

Hopefully the bill will end up going through and the 96,000 individuals already receiving insurance from the program won’t lose it again. As one Arkansas Mary Frances Perkins, who has already used it to start getting the proper treatment for her Parkinson’s, said, “It would just be a nightmare. I would feel like my government had absolutely turned their back on me.”

BOTTOM LINE: Arkansas needs to do the right thing and extend its private option for expanding health insurance to low-income residents. It would be a travesty if almost 100,000 individuals already benefiting from the program went back to being uninsured simply because of partisan politics. But even it does pass, it’s outrageous that the state’s Republicans are so explicit about their attempts to sabotage the law and undercut the compromise they themselves reached less than a year ago.

Wow, things are really moving in the palm oil sector!

So much has happened since we launched this ambitious campaign to save some of the world’s most important rainforests and the last remaining wild orangutans from “Conflict Palm Oil.”         Today is a big step forward. In the face of growing criticism over its use of Conflict Palm Oil, Kellogg has just released a new palm oil sourcing commitment that goes beyond the inadequate standards of  “sustainable” palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

This would not have happened without you. Your phone calls, posts, tweets and, for some, your visit with Strawberry the orangutan to Kellogg’s headquarters has really made a difference.

Kellogg has taken a step in the right direction by requiring its global suppliers to provide palm oil that is fully traceable and produced without destroying rainforests, draining carbon-rich peatlands, or violating human and labor rights. But a statement of intent is not the same as a binding, time-bound responsible palm oil policy. If Kellogg is serious about achieving responsible palm oil supply chains by December 31, 2015, it will put its words into action with a thorough and rapid implementation plan.

We’re winning—now we need you to help turn this commitment into real action.

Here are three things you can do right now to let Kellogg know that it is doing the right thing, but needs to do more:
1. Call Kellogg at 1-800-962-1413. Here’s a call script you can use:

“Hi, my name is [your name] from [your city]. I’m a [student, mom..] and one of your valued customers! Thanks for making a commitment to require suppliers to protect forests, peatlands and human rights. Please, don’t stop there. We need Kellogg to put its words into action with a thorough and rapid implementation plan for removing Conflict Palm Oil from its products.”   

2. Post this message on Kellogg’s Facebook wall:

Hey Kellogg Company, thanks for strengthening Kellogg’s palm oil commitment. Don’t stop there, we need Kellogg to put its words into action with a thorough and rapid implementation plan for removing Conflict Palm Oil from its products. The power is #InYourPalm.

3. Tweet at Kellogg.

The @KelloggCompany’s new commitment is a step in the right direction. Now adopt a plan to cut Conflict #PalmOil. The power is #InYourPalm

Give Kellogg a call now, won’t you?

		The Power is in Your Palm,
		Jess Serrante                     Agribusiness National Organizer

RAN activists in Chicago helped launch the Snack Food 20 campaign in 2013. We’re making change, together. Keep up the good work.

Photo: Donte Tatum

By  CAP Action War Room

Obamacare Literally Saved This Man’s Life

As we discussed on Wednesday, Obamacare is working and millions of Americans across the country are getting health insurance coverage thanks to the law, many for the very first time.

Today, we heard about one man’s story that reminds us why we fought so hard to pass the Affordable Care Act, why we’ve spent years defending it against relentless attacks from conservatives, and why we’re working to fully implement the law and get people signed up for coverage.

Mike O’Dell, 41, was able to obtain a heart transplant and the care he needs thanks to an affordable Obamacare health insurance plan that kicked in January 1:

He couldn’t get private health insurance because of his pre-existing heart condition. But as of January 1, with the health care law, insurers can no longer deny coverage. O’Dell and his wife were able to get coverage through the health insurance marketplace for $190 a month. That allowed him to go on the transplant waiting list.

“He wouldn’t be here with me or my children if it weren’t for the Obamacare,” said O’Dell’s wife, Kate.

And his doctors say he clearly wouldn’t have lived long if he hadn’t received the gift of a stranger’s heart last week.

Kansas, O’Dell’s home state, is one of the few states that has done almost nothing to implement the Affordable Care Act. It has also refused to expand Medicaid coverage to almost 100,000 low-income Kansans that would otherwise be newly-eligible under the law. Thankfully, more than 22,000 Kansans (and 3.3 MILLION other Americans) have been able to select a private plan through the insurance marketplace, despite the GOP’s efforts to sabotage the law.

As O’Dell’s story showcases, having health coverage isn’t just about carrying an insurance card around in your pocket, it can be a matter of life and death. A new study found that an average of between 19 to 47 people will die each day, including as many as one every day or so in Kansas, simply because Republican governors and state legislators refuse to expand Medicaid.

BOTTOM LINE: The Affordable Care Act is already helping tens of millions of Americans every day and is literally a matter of life and death for some. That’s why we can never go back to the way it was before.