Dear Friends:

In 2013, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and our allies are taking big steps toward our advocacy goals of health care and housing for everyone. 

Our colleagues at the National Low Income Housing Coalition are investing $1 million and all their energy in advocacy for the National Housing Trust Fund. At a time when the mortgage interest deduction is finally open to serious political discussion, the chances of major new resources for housing poor people are better than ever. We applaud NLIHC's vision and commitment, and we value our reciprocal Organizational Membership. Housing is health care.

Likewise, the Affordable Care Act really gets off the ground this year, as millions of Americans enroll in health insurance plans they could not possibly afford without Obamacare. While it is not the Single Payer solution that will ultimately provide health care justice in America, it is a huge advance for HCH clients and providers, and our organization's resources will be focused on many aspects of the law's implementation in 2013.

While we look eagerly at this big picture, the National HCH Council is mindfully attending to the details that will mean success or failure for the health reforms. Will expanded Medicaid programs be allowed to charge fees when desperately poor people seek health services? Deep inside a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, there are provisions for copays and premiums that would pose a huge barrier to care for most people without homes. Our job is to ferret out such problems, and - with you - to advocate for remedies.

On a larger scale, states are still deciding whether to expand Medicaid at all. If they do not do so, people living at 100% to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) will be eligible for subsidized private plans in the state health exchange, but millions of the poorest people will be left without any options for health insurance. It's a moral outrage and a poor economic decision for States. Our job is to compile and frame the arguments needed to persuade states to do the right thing. You'll find the tools you need to address this issue in your state in our online local advocacy resource center.

As part of the constant struggle for human rights, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council is helping to build a health care system that is inclusive, fair, and effective. Through our programs of training, technical assistance, research, and advocacy, we are actively advancing

• accreditation of HCH projects as Patient-Centered Medical Homes;
• adapted clinical practices that are responsive to the unique circumstances of homelessness;
• standards for Medical Respite programs, now in over 60 communities;
• employment of formerly homeless persons as Community Health Workers to redirect homeless frequent users from emergency rooms to primary care;
• aggressive outreach and enrollment efforts to bring isolated and ill people into care and health insurance;
• inclusion of homeless populations in local disaster planning and response; and
• so much more!

As always, we welcome your participation and request your support. Membership and donations are easily accomplished on our website, where you can learn much, much more about our work. Please join the Council if you haven't, and give if you can.