After the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the percent of adults without health care insurance declined steadily. The individual marketplaces and expansion of Medicaid in many states opened up new avenues to insurance for families who could not get coverage through employers. The Trump administration and Congressional Republicans are working hard to reverse this progress, though, and the data show that they are succeeding in reducing access to health care. A new survey shows that the number of nonelderly adults without health insurance rose again in 2018, particularly in states that have not expanded Medicaid.

As life expectancy has increased over the past half century, Americans are living longer today during retirement than their parents did. Social Security is the economic backbone to millions of Americans, many of whom use it to better support themselves in retirement, and to millions of workers who have become disabled as well as their families. Social Security’s support is proof that we are committed to protecting and supporting workers when they leave the job.

Last Wednesday, House Republicans passed a bill out of committee that would negatively affect millions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) recipients. SNAP provides low-income families with vital financial assistance to fend off food insecurity and hardship, and in 2016 lifted roughly 3.6 million Americans out of poverty, including 1.5 million children. The Republican bill would cut more than $15 billion in benefits and impose harsh work requirements, despite the fact that nearly three quarters of beneficiaries already work within a year of receiving assistance. Cuts would be especially damaging in rural communities, where 16 percent of households depend on SNAP.