News & Media
Coronavirus April 8 Update: An Interview with the House Majority Leader, Multiple Calls for More Relief Funds, and Telehealth Policy Updates
Pelosi, Schumer lay out demands for ‘interim’ virus aid package
Democratic leaders on Wednesday morning called for a new COVID-19 relief measure that could pass Congress as early as this week to include aid to states, hospitals and low-income nutrition funds on top of some $251 billion in small-business loan funds the White House has requested.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., issued a joint statement saying their list of items includes $100 billion more for hospitals and health care providers, $150 billion in assistance for states and localities, and a 15 percent increase in the maximum food stamp benefit, which is currently about $646 per month for a family of four.
“The heartbreaking acceleration of the coronavirus crisis demands bold, urgent and ongoing action from Congress to protect Americans’ lives and livelihoods,” Pelosi and Schumer said in the statement. “The American people need to know that their government is there for them in their time of great need.”
The Democrats' request for additional aid, on top of the cash infusion for the Small Business Administration's oversubscribed loan fund, which both sides say they support, could slow down quick action sought for the small-business funding package.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday he wanted to pass the not-yet-introduced bill during a pro forma session on Thursday. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said Tuesday that his chamber could act as soon as Friday if they are able to get unanimous consent or clear the measure by voice vote.
But he and Pelosi said they also wanted changes to the SBA program, including more money allocated for women- and minority-owned businesses and those having trouble accessing loans from larger, traditional financial institutions.
Read the full story on RollCall.com.
Expected spike in uninsured could consume pandemic funds for hospitals
A newly released Kaiser Family Foundation report estimates that as many as 2 million uninsured people will require hospitalization for COVID-19. And that number is likely to be conservative, the analysis says.
The foundation's health care policy experts estimate that 2 percent to 7 percent of uninsured people will require hospitalization for COVID-19. Projecting based on the number of uninsured people there were in 2018—27.9 million people—that would mean there could be as many as 2 million people admitted to a hospital for COVID-19 who lack health insurance.
The foundation estimates that reimbursing hospitals for their care would cost as much as $41.8 billion—a sizeable chunk of the $100 billion provided to hospitals under the recent rescue package (PL 116-136). Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said the administration would begin to distribute $30 billion in grants to health care systems this week.
Trump has pledged to use some of that funding -- which Democrats have dubbed a "Marshall plan for hospitals" -- to pay hospitals to treat uninsured patients. But hospitals have indicated they intend to use that pot of funds to cover a variety of expenses, like purchases of ventilators and expanding bed capacity.
And the experts acknowledge the number of uninsured Americans has grown as unemployment has seen an historic spike, and will grow further as the pandemic continues. "There is no doubt that the number of people uninsured is growing with the massive job losses," author Larry Levitt tweeted. "It's a vicious cycle."
Another analysis in the Annals of Internal Medicine released Tuesday estimates that 7.3 million people could lose insurance coverage due to the economic downturn, which would ratchet up the ranks of uninsured people seeking treatment for COVID-19.
The authors, researchers with the City University of New York at Hunter College and also advocates with the pro-single payer group Physicians for a National Health Program, write that the losses will be especially severe in states that have not expanded Medicaid.
Democrats in the House and Senate are calling on the Trump administration to reopen state-level health insurance exchanges run by the federal government for an "emergency special enrollment period" during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday that data shows that African Americans are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Fauci said African Americans were more likely to have underlying conditions, such as asthma, hypertension or diabetes that can exacerbate the seriousness of the disease.
Advocates urge more legislative action to help children affected by COVID-19
Health advocates say Congress needs to do more to prevent children from getting COVID-19 and protect them from its societal impacts. Children are far less likely to become seriously ill with the disease, but advocates say more can be done to alleviate the disease's effects on them, from illnesses in their families to economic fallout, Sandhya Raman reports.
"The myth that kids are not really impacted by COVID-19 really contributed to some enormous gaps and failings in the first three packages," said Bruce Lesley, president of the children's advocacy organization First Focus. "Kids are being impacted in every facet of their lives." Lesley warned that foster children, minors in the juvenile justice system, homeless children, and immigrant youth in detention centers have few protections in place and families don't have the training or resources to protect children and workers.
Advocates want Congress, in their next economic relief package, to focus on improving data collection on children's wellbeing, on boosting economic aid to families, and on providing more paid leave to parents caring for children out of school. Children's hospitals are also arguing they deserve a portion of the $100 billion hospital fund provided in the third COVID-19 package.
Senate Democrats push pandemic hazard pay for front-line workers
Democrats are calling for hazard pay for frontline workers in the fourth iteration of a series of laws Congress has passed to mitigate the financial fallout from COVID-19, Mary Ellen McInitre reports.
Senate Democrats are proposing to offer hazard pay to essential workers of up to $25,000, or $13 per hour, according to a white paper on the issue. Frontline health care workers, janitors, truck drivers, grocery store clerks and transit workers would also be eligible for pay from the so-called "Heroes Fund." Senate Democrats are also proposing a $15,000 worker recruitment incentive to attract and keep a medical workforce to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer said he had not yet spoken with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell or other Republicans about the proposal. He did not say whether Democrats would insist upon including hazard pay in a measure to provide additional small-business loans that is now in the works.