Healthcare experts issue recommendations for COVID-19 coronavirus stimulus bill
Among the recommendations are requiring coverage of preventive services with no cost-sharing and expanding resources for health workers.
As negotiations in Washington continue over the prudent legislative response to the growing coronavirus pandemic, a team of public health leaders -- with input from more than 50 other experts in public health, healthcare, medicine, and law -- has issued its own set of detailed policy recommendations to lawmakers for a comprehensive COVID-19 stimulus bill.
The framework lays out legislation that goes beyond the payroll tax cut put forward by President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, Trump pitched to Republican lawmakers a 0% payroll tax rate that would last through the rest of this year, according to CNBC.
The suggestions detail a set of emergency public health and financial measures that the experts say must be at the core of any effective and equitable government response to what is already a historic health crisis.
In anticipation of political resistance to a proposal of this magnitude, the working group insists in one of the document's guiding principles that "Protecting Americans' health in this time of crisis should be a unifying effort; it should not be and cannot be divisive." The groups' recommendations were released Thursday in a piece appearing on the Health Affairs Blog.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT
Among the framework's chief recommendations are large-scale measures around boosting the country's healthcare, testing, and containment capacities; requiring coverage of preventive and diagnostic services related to COVID-19 with no cost-sharing; protecting especially vulnerable populations; providing financial and logistical support to impacted workers and employers; expanding resources and assistance for frontline healthcare providers; facilitating the rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine and treatment while restricting price-gouging; and investing in key public health infrastructure.
The working group said the government's response should reflect the COVID-19 novel coronavirus' status as a "once-in-a-century public health crisis," and added that their recommendations should not be considered cautionary measures, but rather critical elements for the nation to effectively battle what has become a global pandemic.
In support of its big-picture proposals, the document goes into some detail about how lawmakers can use existing policy channels -- such as state Medicaid expansion -- to fulfill the experts' directives and allocate the resources necessary for a robust coronavirus response.
Collectively, the working group has extensive experience operating within the legislative contours of Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and funding and legislation related to public health infrastructure, and many of its suggestions involve wielding these programs to safeguard the health of the American public during the coronavirus pandemic.
Much of the necessary infrastructure already exists, the group said; now the right policies just need to be implemented. But the recommendations also call for lawmakers to break new policy ground in a number of ways, especially in order to protect vulnerable populations.
The experts warn about increased COVID-related risk to groups including the elderly, chronically ill and homeless, as well as individuals who are undocumented, institutionalized, incarcerated, or food-insecure. During a public health crisis, the authors suggest, the government has an added responsibility to ensure accurate messaging, adequate nutrition, and quality healthcare for the most vulnerable Americans.
THE LARGER TREND
How individuals respond to government advice on preventing the spread of COVID-19 will be at least as, if not more important, than government action, according to a commentary from researchers at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London in the UK, and Utrecht University and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands.
Vaccine development is already underway, but it's likely to be at least a year before a vaccine can be mass-produced, even assuming all trials are successful. Social distancing is therefore the most important measure. This includes early self-isolation and quarantine, seeking remote medical advice and not attending large gatherings or going to crowded places. The virus seems to largely affect older people and those with existing medical conditions, so targeted social distancing may be most effective.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com
