Congress Must Act to Ensure Americans Can Protect Themselves from COVID-19
When President Biden took office, his administration built a COVID-19 response strategy out of nothing. Now, we have access to vaccines, tests, and treatments, and the White House recently launched covid.gov. The new website allows you to look up community-level COVID-19 guidance, find where to find free tests, masks and vaccines, and locate access to test-to-treat care.
We’ve made progress, but that progress at risk if Congress fails to approve more funding. Already, providers can no longer be reimbursed for treating uninsured patients for COVID-19, and uninsured Americans will soon lose access to free vaccines. We will be unprepared for future surges or variants, and we will lose access to life-saving treatments like monoclonal antibodies. Right now, the government does not have enough vaccines to cover every American if an additional dose is needed later in the year. Republicans must join with Democrats and act now in order to ensure that the progress we’ve made is not lost, and that we are prepared for any future variants or surges.
Below are headlines detailing the dire situation we could find ourselves in if Congress continues to stonewall the funding:
Axios: COVID Care Will Get Harder To Access. “The discontinuation of the federal program that makes free COVID care available to uninsured Americans means that they’re likely to have a lot more difficulty accessing pandemic care… If patients are on the hook for more of their COVID-related costs, a bad case of the virus could suddenly become a much larger financial burden. Or patients may simply be less willing to get tested or vaccinated.” [Axios, 3/29/22]
Politico: Funding Stall Could Exacerbate Racial Disparities. “The White House says if Congress doesn’t approve the $22.5 billion it’s requesting for Covid-19 aid, it will have to scale back or suspend programs that provide free testing, treatments and vaccinations, a move that would disproportionately affect the tens of millions of uninsured Americans — most of whom are people of color. Racial and ethnic gaps have narrowed considerably since the pandemic began. The federal government’s decision to make Covid interventions available to everyone at no cost temporarily helped level the playing field.” [Politico, 3/29/22]
Bloomberg: US Covid Response Showing Cracks As Congress Delays Funding. “Cracks in Covid programs across the U.S. are starting to show. Lawmakers from both parties have been slow to allocate new money for the effort as infections have dropped to their lowest rate since July. After the Biden administration failed to get $22.5 billion in emergency Covid funds, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attempted to secure over $15 billion as part of a broader spending package earlier this month.” [Bloomberg, 3/29/22]
NPR: Free COVID Tests And Treatments No Longer Free For Uninsured, As Funding Runs Out. “Coronavirus tests for uninsured patients are no longer free in some places. That’s because the program that reimbursed clinics and hospitals for the testing, as well as for treating uninsured patients with COVID-19, stopped accepting claims last week “due to lack of sufficient funds.” Some clinics have already started to turn away people without insurance who come to get tested and can’t afford to pay for it.” [NPR, 3/29/22]
MSNBC: Conservative Penny-Pinching Is Tanking The Covid Response. “But a combination of conservative opposition and the significant number of people who are showing apathy toward the pandemic seems all but sure to thrust us into another surge in cases, and we don’t know what the long-term impact on both public health and the economy will be… We know some infected patients experience long-term symptoms that may not qualify as serious illness but wreak havoc on their lives regardless. We also know some of the critical means of stopping Covid’s spread are possible only if funds are provided to help make these things available to ordinary people.” [MSNBC, 3/29/22]
Vanity Fair: Surgeon General: Without More Covid Prevention Funding, US At Risk Of “Backsliding.” “The White House’s top health officials have issued a clear warning to Congress about its failure to fund additional COVID-19 aid: “If adequate funding is provided, our country will be in a position of strength, well situated to manage COVID-19 and to adapt our response as future variants emerge,” Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and Chief Science Officer David Kessler of the White House COVID response team wrote in a New York Times op-ed Tuesday.” [Vanity Fair, 3/29/22]
Roll Call: Administration, Health Experts Nervously Eye New Virus Variants. “The White House is pushing Congress to appropriate more money to beef up pandemic preparedness efforts, including purchasing more boosters and therapeutics. Biden’s fiscal 2023 budget request includes $81.7 billion for pandemic efforts over five years. The administration is also preparing for additional booster shots after greenlighting a second mRNA booster dose for everyone over the age of 50 on Tuesday. But without more funding, the administration says it will be unable to secure additional vaccines for the younger population. Several nations, including Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines and Hong Kong, have already secured future booster doses.” [Roll Call, 3/30/22]