SHORT TAKES ON IMPORTANT STORIES #2
Here are short takes on four important stories that have gotten little attention in the mainstream media. Each provides a quick summary of the story, a hint as to why it’s important, and a link to more information.
STORY #1: As the political divide in the U.S. widens, it’s been particularly evident in state level policies. States now vary widely in their health care coverage for low-income households under Medicaid and other public health programs. There’s also great variation in the generosity of other public benefits and safety net programs. Minimum wage and gun safety laws vary greatly as do rates of unionization. These and many other state policies affect the well-being and ultimately the longevity of a state’s residents.
Examining life expectancy provides a valuable perspective on the effects of policies on the residents of states and countries. Globally, life expectancy has been increasing in high-income countries for decades. While the U.S.’s life expectancy was increasing, when compared to these other countries it began to fall behind in the 1990s and by 2006 it ranked last. After 2014, life expectancy in the U.S. actually began to decline. By 2021, life expectancy in the U.S. was 76.4 years, compared to 80 to 83 years in European countries and 84.5 years in Japan. Even in China it was 78.2 years. [1]
The trend in life expectancy varies considerably among U.S. states. Several recent studies provide convincing evidence that the divergence of state-level policies between Democratic and Republican dominated states has contributed significantly to the changes in life expectancy, especially for low-income people. The differences are highlighted by comparing Connecticut and Oklahoma where the policy ideology has shifted the most over the last 60 years. In CT, policies have trended toward Democratic, progressive, or liberal policies and in OK toward Republican or conservative policies. In both states, life expectancy was 71.1 years in 1959. By 2017, life expectancy in CT had increased to 80.7 years, while in OK it had increased to only 75.8 years. [2]
STORY #2: Not content to control just state policies (and harm residents statewide), Republican-controlled states are more and more frequently blocking local governments from enacting policies that benefit their local residents (but that state-level lawmakers don’t like). This trend began in 2016 when North Carolina’s Republican state officials nullified Charlotte’s ordinance protecting LGBTQ rights. Also in 2016, the Republican Alabama state legislature and governor banned local minimum wage laws after Birmingham had enacted one. (Note: Alabama is one of five states (all in the south) that has never enacted a state minimum wage law.) Mississippi’s Republican state lawmakers stripped Jackson of its criminal courts, having the state take over. Nashville’s civilian police review board was prohibited by Tennessee’s Republican state officials.
Texas, which had previously banned municipalities from enacting tenant protections and regulating fracking within their boundaries, for example, has now passed a blanket prohibition on any local law that does more than state law in a wide range of policy arenas, including agriculture, finance, insurance, labor, natural resources, and property rights, as well as in business, commerce, and employment law. Among many other things, this state law negated laws in Austin and Dallas that required water breaks for construction workers, despite scorching hot summer days. Florida is now trying to outdo even Texas’s blanket preemption of local government policy making. [3]
According to the Local Solutions Support Center (which helps municipalities fight state preemption laws), these preemption laws began as special interest legislation pushed by businesses for economic reasons but have now expanded to social issues and the culture war. Over 700 preemption bills have been filed in state legislatures in 2023 and, by October, 90 had been passed, even though they are typically unpopular with the public. They are, however, popular with wealthy business owners who provide campaign money to Republicans. Thirty-one of the largest 35 cities in the U.S. are run by Democrats and most of them have large minority populations, including Black majorities in some southern cities. Pre-emption by Republican state lawmakers prevents Democrats and, in some cases, Blacks from governing in their own communities.
STORY #3: A classic case of pre-emption by state and federal lawmakers has been protecting gun manufacturers and dealers from liability for gun crimes involving violence and deaths using illegally sold guns. In the late 1990s, dozens of cities filed lawsuits against gun manufacturers and dealers. Only one, brought by Gary, Indiana, has survived lawmakers’ protections and legal challenges. Last fall, the judge for the case ordered the gun manufacturers and retailers who are defendants to turn over internal records relevant to the case. It is widely believed that these documents would reveal damaging evidence about the gunmakers’ and sellers’ knowledge of illegal gun sales. Republicans, who hold large majorities in the Indiana state legislature and the governorship, are pushing legislation that would ban cities from suing gun manufacturers or dealers; reserving that power to the state. Not coincidentally, the legislation is retroactive to August 27, 1999, three days before the Gary lawsuit was filed. [4]
STORY #4: With the end of the pandemic’s ban on dropping children and adults from Medicaid health insurance, millions of children are losing health care coverage. States are now allowed to review the current eligibility of children covered by their Medicaid programs. At least 2 million children have already lost coverage and federal researchers estimate that more than 5 million children will eventually lose the health insurance they’ve been getting through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Under the pandemic’s emergency rules, Medicaid enrollment grew and researchers estimate that by 2022 more than half of the children in the U.S. were covered by Medicaid or CHIP. Overall, over 90 million people, more than one-fourth of the population, were enrolled in these health insurance programs. Over 15 million people have now lost their Medicaid coverage based on these eligibility reviews. Because Medicaid and CHIP are joint federal-state programs, the states have significant power to decide who they will cover and who they won’t and what happens to people who lose their coverage. [5] In Massachusetts, for example, 400,000 people have lost their Medicaid coverage, but the state is actively working to help them obtain other health insurance. Over 50,000 of them have signed up for subsidized health insurance under the state’s Health Connector program. [6]
[1] OECD, 2024, “Life expectancy at birth,” (https://data.oecd.org/healthstat/life-expectancy-at-birth.htm)
[2] Starr, P., 12/8/23, “The life-or-death cost of conservative power,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/health/2023-12-08-life-death-cost-conservative-power/)
[3] Meyerson, H., 2/6/24, “Pre-preemption,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/politics/2024-02-06-pre-preemption/)
[4] Cook, T., & Coleman, V., 1/30/24, “Indiana lawmakers trying to kill historic suit seeking gun industry accountability,” ProPublica and IndyStar (https://www.propublica.org/article/indiana-guns-gary-lawsuit-gunmakers-hb1235)
[5] Weiland, N., 11/10/23, “2 million kids lost health coverage,” The Boston Globe from the New York Times
[6] Borkhetaria, B., 1/29/24, “MassHealth takes steps to preserve coverage for eligible members,” CommonWealth Beacon (https://commonwealthbeacon.org/the-download/the-download-masshealth-takes-steps-to-preserve-coverage-for-eligible-members/)