President Trump and Vice-President Pence were asked at both Wednesday and Thursday’s news conferences about their plan to protect the uninsured from financial ruin as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Galen Senior Fellow Brian Blase describes in a Forbes column today, How The Uninsured Can Gain Financial Protection From The Virus, three immediate options: 1) … [Read more...] about Coverage in the Coronavirus Crisis
A Gradual, Selective Approach To Opening Up The U.S. Economy
Different countries and different states in the U.S. are taking differing approaches to try to contain and defeat this “novel” lethal virus. Italy and South Korea are two examples. In this challenging and fast-moving environment, learning from other countries can help U.S. policymakers at both the federal and state levels improve our response. Italy has been hit hard. The country has an aging … [Read more...] about A Gradual, Selective Approach To Opening Up The U.S. Economy
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
Affordable Care Act at Ten: Huge Expansion of Welfare and Injury to Individual Insurance Market
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law March 23, 2010, represents the most sweeping federal health reform legislation since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. In the ensuing decade, the ACA has led to greater federal government control over the health care system through its mandates, subsidies, and taxes, leading to much higher costs and spending and fewer … [Read more...] about Affordable Care Act at Ten: Huge Expansion of Welfare and Injury to Individual Insurance Market
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