Letters: Employer-provided insurance; BMV and organ donors; change Child Tax Credit
It pays to have employer-provided coverage
My family and I were surprised when I had to be rushed to the hospital with intense stomach pain which led to my appendix being removed. It was a scary time, but I was lucky to have been insured under my parents’ employer-provided coverage plan.
I was able to access the care I needed to get better without us worrying about the medical bills that came afterward. My family is part of the millions of Hoosiers that receive their insurance through employer-provided coverage.
This program continues to be such a great way for hard-working Americans and their families to access quality health care without breaking the bank. Employer-provided coverage also offered telehealth and alternative treatment options that eased my recovery time.
In no time, I was back on my feet. Because of that, I want to remind folks in our community to look into their benefits packages and take advantage of what it offers. Many businesses of a wide variety of sizes offer employer-provided coverage — more often than not, it can also cover your loved ones!
Emma MacDonald, Bloomington
Donate Life Indiana grateful for help from state BMV
Do you have a heart on your driver’s license? Then you’re among 4.3 million Hoosiers registered to be organ donors— 99% of you made your decision at your local Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicle branch. September is National Bureau of Motor Vehicles Appreciation Month, when Donate Life Indiana celebrates its longstanding relationship with the Indiana BMV and everything BMV employees do to save Hoosier lives by asking one simple question, “Would you like to be an organ donor?”
More than 1 million transactions are conducted at state BMV branches annually with employees asking the donation question to thousands every day. For eight straight years, Indiana’s donor registry has grown and the Indiana BMV has helped drive that growth through its commitment to our mission. We are incredibly thankful for our longstanding relationship with the Indiana BMV. All Hoosiers should be, too.
More than 105,000 Americans are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, including more than 1,200 Hoosiers. Tragically, 17 people in the U.S. die each day waiting. More registered donors are needed to end the wait. If you’re not registered to be an organ donor, please consider saying “yes” the next time you’re at your BMV branch. Tim Clauson, chair of Donate Life Indiana
Congress: Change Child Tax Credit to help more families
In early 2021, Congress expanded the federal Child Tax Credit (CTC), and childhood poverty dropped to the lowest levels ever seen. Families received monthly checks and had more to spend on food, housing, utilities, child care, and other necessities.
But when Congress failed to renew this expansion at the start of 2022, childhood poverty rates increased overnight from 5.2% to 12.4%, leaving 5 million children worse off than the year before. The current divided Congress appears unlikely to restore the full expanded CTC, but there is bipartisan interest in making the CTC fairer.
Currently, families making $400,000 a year receive much, much more assistance from the CTC than those making $25,000. Since the point of the program is to make sure all American kids have a shot at a good start in life, that makes no sense. I urge our Hoosier representatives and senators in Congress to press for changes in the tax code that would extend the full credit of the CTC to as many families as possible, prioritizing those with low incomes.
These children are our country's future. It's the right thing to do.
Stephen Arnold, Bloomington
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Letters: Employer-provided insurance; thanks BMV; Child Tax Credit
