The administration’s guidelines for “Opening Up America Again” rely heavily on the ability of states to develop a robust COVID-19 testing capacity, and Congress is negotiating adding as much as $25 billion to this week’s funding bill to significantly expand testing. Badger and Turner argue that a dramatic increase in coronavirus testing is needed before people will feel safe … [Read more...] about How to Resolve the Coronavirus Testing Crisis
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The Importance Of The Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule
OVERVIEW To help the country deal with the coronavirus epidemic, Congress has provided additional funding to states through their Medicaid programs, and much more may be coming. Galen Senior Fellow Brian Blase, in a major new article published today in Health Affairs, explains the vital importance of ensuring that Medicaid funds are spent on health care for enrollees and not “kickback … [Read more...] about The Importance Of The Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule
Cover Coronavirus Treatments, Don’t Expand Medicaid
We need to be smart about how we use public resources to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. Two major crises are facing the country right now: 1) the negative health impact and associated deaths from the virus, and 2) the enormous economic impact of large numbers of businesses and schools shutting down. Congress needs to wisely allocate public resources to address both and not be … [Read more...] about Cover Coronavirus Treatments, Don’t Expand Medicaid
Innovation, Information, And Ingenuity Can Fight COVID-19
The coronavirus crisis has, in a few short months, reshaped our lives, the world economy, and our health sector in a way that seemed unimaginable before this lethal pathogen began sweeping the planet. Reports yesterday warned we must prepare for a “pandemic that could last up to 18 months and include multiple waves of illness,” but that is static thinking. The U.S. government, … [Read more...] about Innovation, Information, And Ingenuity Can Fight COVID-19
Congress Must Cut Red Tape that Reduces the Effectiveness of Our COVID-19 Response
State and federal laws and regulations are hindering the private sector’s efforts to help fight the outbreak. Effectively responding to the coronavirus epidemic requires innovation from private companies, medical professionals, and entrepreneurs. These folks are ready to perform heroic acts, but government rules and red tape are getting in their way. To take one tragic example, it appears … [Read more...] about Congress Must Cut Red Tape that Reduces the Effectiveness of Our COVID-19 Response
Congress Needs A Smart, Targeted, Flexible Approach To Fighting Virus Outbreak
The House of Representatives is expected to vote today on emergency legislation to help states fund their coronavirus response efforts, but the bill takes a simplistic, inequitable and mistargeted approach, according to Galen Senior Fellow Brian Blase. In their efforts to help states combat the virus and the resulting economic impact, “House Democrats advocate sending enormous sums to states — … [Read more...] about Congress Needs A Smart, Targeted, Flexible Approach To Fighting Virus Outbreak
House Coronavirus Response Disproportionately Funds Richest States
The table below uses fiscal year 2017 Medicaid expenditure data from Kaiser Family Foundation inflated by 4 percent a year to project the extra funds that would be provided to each state in fiscal year 2020 if the House Democrats’ 8 percent FMAP bump up lasted the entire year. It also includes the number of uninsured Americans per state in 2018. As a way of making comparisons across … [Read more...] about House Coronavirus Response Disproportionately Funds Richest States
Health Reform Must Energize State Engagement
Amid the avalanche of news this week, the Supreme Court lit up the hottest issue in the 2020 campaign when it announced it will hear a third challenge to the Affordable Care Act. After Congress voted to zero out the individual mandate’s tax penalty in 2017, 20 states moved to challenge the law on the basis that the mandate no longer is a tax—undoing the key argument that Chief Justice … [Read more...] about Health Reform Must Energize State Engagement