Health Advocate Blog

Analysis and Commentary

March 12, 2021
The American Rescue Plan Act: What’s it do for Health?
Mara Youdelman
President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act on March 11. This $1.9 trillion plan, responding to the COVID…
March 12, 2021
American Rescue Plan Act Takes Landmark Step Toward Ending Our Black and Indigenous Maternal Mortality Epidemic
Madeline Morcelle
With the stroke of a pen on March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of…
February 26, 2021
Updates on Work Requirement Litigation – from the desk of the Executive Director
Elizabeth G. Taylor
It’s too early to celebrate victory in our work requirement litigation, but there are significant positive developments. I thought…
February 24, 2021
Building Trust in the COVID Vaccine in Black Communities
Miriam Delaney Heard
“The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind.” Maya AngelouIf ever there were a…
February 24, 2021
New Directions in Regulatory Policy Give Health Policy Advocates a Glimmer of Hope
Dania Douglas
On his first day in office, President Biden issued a series of Executive Orders and Memoranda that signaled a…
February 16, 2021
To End the Pandemic, California Must Prioritize Equity in Vaccine Distribution
Cathren Cohen
It has now been over a year since the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in California, and, while…
January 11, 2021
Im/migrant Detention is Reproductive Injustice
Madeline Morcelle
For the past four years, the Trump administration’s U.S. Department of Homeland Security has committed a litany of human…
December 22, 2020
Medi-Cal Will Help Low-Income Californians Weather the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Economic Fall Out
Alicia Emanuel
Now is a particularly perilous time in the COVID-19 pandemic. Winter is here and we will all be forced…
November 17, 2020
Mental Health Parity: Substance Use Disorder Parity Lags & Requires Meaningful Disclosure
Elizabeth Edwards and Abigail Coursolle
Eliminating discriminatory treatment limitations is at the heart of federal parity law, but access to substance use disorder (SUD)…