User:Makenna Williams/Poverty threshold

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A homeless man seeks shelter under a public bench

David Gordon's paper, "Indicators of Poverty and Hunger", for the United Nations, further defines absolute poverty as the absence of any two of the following eight basic needs:

• Food: Body mass index must be above 16.
• Safe drinking water: Water must not come solely from rivers and ponds, and must be available nearby (fewer than 15 minutes' walk each way).
• Sanitation facilities: Toilets or latrines must be accessible in or near the home.
• Health: Treatment must be received for serious illnesses and pregnancy.
• Shelter: Homes must have fewer than four people living in each room. Floors must not be made of soil, mud, or clay.
• Education: Everyone must attend school or otherwise learn to read.
• Information: Everyone must have access to newspapers, radios, televisions, computers, or telephones at home.
• Access to services: This item is undefined by Gordon, but normally is used to indicate the complete panoply of education, health, legal, social, and financial (credit) services.

Impacts on healthcare[edit]

The nation's poverty threshold is issued by the Census Bureau. According to the Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation the threshold is statistically relevant and can be a solid predictor of people in poverty. The reasoning for using Federal Poverty Level (FPL) is due to its action for distributive purposes under the direction of Health and Human Services. So FPL is a tool derived from the threshold but can be used to show eligibility for certain federal programs. Federal poverty levels have direct effects on individuals' healthcare. In the past years and into the present government, the use of the poverty threshold has consequences for such programs like Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.  The benefits which different families are eligible for are contingent on FPL. The FPL, in turn, is calculated based on federal numbers from the previous year.

The benefits and qualifications for federal programs are dependent on number of people on a plan and the income of the total group. For 2019, the U.S Department of health & Human Services enumerate what the line is for different families. For a single person, the line is $12,490 and up to $43,430 for a family of 8, in the lower 48 states. Another issue is reduced-cost coverage. These reductions are based on income relative to FPL, and work in connection with public health services such as Medicaid. The divisions of FPL percentages are nominally, above 400%, below 138% and below 100% of the FPL. After the advent of the American Care Act, Medicaid was expanded on states bases. For example, enrolling in the ACA kept the benefits of Medicaid when the income was up to 138% of the FPL.

Department of Health & Human Services Seal

Department of Health & Human Services Seal

Poverty mobility and healthcare[edit]

Health Affairs along with analysis by Georgetown found that public assistance does counteract poverty threats between 2010 and 2015. In regards to Medicaid, child poverty is decreased by 5.3%, and Hispanic and Black poverty by 6.1% and 4.9% respectively. The reduction of family poverty also has the highest decrease with Medicaid over other public assistance programs. Expanding state Medicaid decreased the amount individuals paid by an average of $42, while it increased the costs to $326 for people not in expanded states. The same study analyzed showed 2.6 million people were kept out of poverty by the effects of Medicaid. From a 2013–2015 study, expansion states showed a smaller gap in health insurance between households making below $25,000 and above $75,000. Expansion also significantly reduced the gap of having a primary care physician between impoverished and higher income individuals. In terms of education level and employment, health insurance differences were also reduced. Non-expansion also showed poor residents went from a 22% chance of being uninsured to 66% from 2013 to 2015.