Special Features Archive

As key congressional committees prepare to introduce landmark health reform legislation, a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) report, “Health Reform: The Cost of Failure ” projects that if federal reform efforts are not enacted, within 10 years the cost of health care for businesses could double, and the number of uninsured Americans could reach 65.7 million – with middle-income families hardest hit.

Health care advocate, Adam Searing looks at how technology is changing the way advocates press for policy reforms in a new article, Health Reform Advocacy: Change Brings Opportunity published in the North Carolina Medical Journal. 

The article examines some of the past…

Current legislative proposals to alter the administration, eligibility criteria and funding levels of More at Four, North Carolina’s nationally lauded education program for at-risk four-year olds, risk undermining one of the state’s best investments in the future, a new report says.

Since the start of the recession, North Carolinians have received $2.2 billion in unemployment insurance payments. These regular, emergency and extendedbenefits, in turn, have generated $3.7 billion in economic activity. Absent the payments, the state’s economic woes would be worse.

When Governor Beverly Perdue released her first proposed state budget on March 17, 2009, most advocates breathed a sigh of relief. The budget calls for relatively few cuts in state programs and services and no furloughs or pay cutsfor state employees. A closer look, however, reveals the trade off is a precariously balanced budget that the General Assembly is unlikely to accept in its entirety.

From community to community in North Carolina there is great variation in the frequency of surgical procedures– variation that can’t be explained by disease rates or factors such as age, sex, or race.

The NC Budget & Tax Center (BTC) has developed a plan for raising revenues that will help to address the state’s budget gap while simultaneously improving the long-term stability, adequacy and fairness of the state tax system. The BTC’s plan, if enacted, would fill in approximately 30% of the state’s budget gap in fiscal year 2009-10 and provide a net tax reduction for the bottom 60% of income earners.

Action for Children North Carolina’s 2009 Child Economic Opportunity Report Card, which was released today, shows North Carolina’s children are increasingly disconnected from the network of institutions that provide an opportunity for success and make prosperity possible. The repercussions of this disconnection can be seen in the increased number of children in households burdened with high housing costs or in the number of children in poverty despite having full-time workers in their households.

Action for Children North Carolina today announces the release of its children's budget report titled Children in the Federal and State Budgets: A Declining Priority? The report outlines the declines in our federal and state commitments to children in recent…

With increased demand for transportation services during a time of diminished state budget coffers, local governments will likely need to significantly boost their own transportation budgets — but those governments should avoid sales taxes in favor of more stable, progressive revenue tools, says a new report.

As the recession worsens, America’s businesses and families are feeling the squeeze of these tough economic times. Unemployment is at its highest rate in decades, and economic forecasts suggest that troubles are likely to continue for many months to come. At the same time, the cost of health coverage continues to rise, and millions of Americans remain uninsured, with more workers losing their jobs and the health insurance that they rely on with each passing week.

The Children’s Index, which is published biennially by Action for Children North Carolina, presents a comprehensive snapshot of how children are faring in North Carolina. The report monitors key indicators that address seven issue areas: health, safety, economic security, early care, education, child maltreatment and delinquency prevention.

North Carolina’s transportation budget is in crisis. But, says a new report, more efficient and effective funding systems could ensure that North Carolina gets the public transportation so crucial for the state’s economic and social well-being.

Even facing grim budget realities, lawmakers can make progress on the issues that matter to people this session. The NC Justice Center offers some recommendations in its Legislative Bulletin, a briefing on issues of the day designed for lawmakers and…