Health and Environmentmental Cleanup
The IAF East affiliate in Hudson County New Jersey launched a lawsuit against the Honeywell Corporation, which led to a recent ruling that calls for Honeywell to spend as much as $400 million to remove toxic chromium from Jersey City sites. Negotiations are currently underway between IAF affiliate Interfaith Community Organization, Honeywell, and other parties that will lead to one of the largest clean-ups in recent years.
Affordable Health Insurance
In 2006, the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, an IAF affiliate in Massachusetts, successfully organized the passage of a sweeping health care reform law that expands access to quality affordable health insurance to nearly all of the 550,000 Massachusetts residents who are currently uninsured. Key components of this legislation include:
- Expansion of the state Medicaid program to cover 27,000 children and 58,000 adults.
- Reinstatement of dental and eyeglass benefits for Medicaid recipients.
- Enrollment of 65,000 low-income adults (below 100% Federal Poverty Line) in comprehensive private health insurance plans with no premiums or deductibles and with minimal co-payments.
- Sliding-scale subsidies for 150,000 low/moderate-income adults (100-300% FPL) to purchase comprehensive private health insurance plans with no deductibles and with minimal co-payments.
- Insurance market reforms that make it easier and cheaper for moderate-income individuals and small businesses to purchase quality health insurance.
- Assessments totaling approximately $100 million/year on businesses that do not provide health insurance.
- $125 million in additional new state spending on health insurance subsidies