"We pay attention to the families earning less than $35,000 a year because that's where most of the kids are." -David Ellwood, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University 1. Take the Two Minute Poverty Tour How far does $17,184 go for a family of four in America today? Far enough to cover rent, food, transportation, health, and child care? Find out in this multimedia presentation from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Go to http://www.nccbuscc.org/cchd/povertyusa/tour2.htm 2. COBRA Reimbursements DHS Med-QUEST implemented a COBRA Premium Reimbursement Program on 01/02/02 for Hawaii residents whose employment was affected by the September 11 attacks. For more details, go to http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2001/Dec/28/ln/ln26a.html or call 692-7980, 692-7982, or 1-800-574-0911. 3. Medicaid Benefits for Legal Immigrant Children and Pregnant Women Families USA is lobbying for the federal government to restore this funding. 4. Expanding Family Coverage: States' Medicaid Eligibility Policies for Working Families in the Year 2000 Since 1996, changes in federal law and policy have given states new opportunities to expand publicly-financed health insurance coverage to members of low-income working families with children, including parents. Nonetheless, the percentage of low-income parents who are insured by Medicaid fell by almost 25% from 1995 to 2000, according to census data, and the share who are uninsured rose by 7 percent. While 12 states have substantially expanded low-income working parents' eligibility for Medicaid since 1997, income eligibility limits for parents in most states remain well below the poverty line, and about one-third of low-income parents remain uninsured. In light of the current recession, it seems likely that uninsurance rates for low-income parents will rise even further unless states are able to expand publicly-funded coverage. The full report, from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, is at http://www.cbpp.org/1-2-02health.htm.