Learn more about the podcast here.

Daniella Gibbs Léger is the executive vice president for Communications and Strategy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Jesse Lee is a vice president for Communications at the Action Fund. Chris Ford is the broadcast manager for Communications at the Action Fund. Adam Peck is the senior media coordinator at the Action Fund. Morgan Spivey is an executive coordinator at the Action Fund.

The post Dr. Peter Hotez on J&J Vaccinations and the State of the COVID-19 Pandemic appeared first on Center for American Progress Action.

Learn more about the podcast here.

Daniella Gibbs Léger is the executive vice president for Communications and Strategy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Jesse Lee is a vice president for Communications at the Action Fund. Chris Ford is the broadcast manager for Communications at the Action Fund. Dwayne Greene is the director of Broadcast Communications at the Action Fund. Adam Peck is the senior media coordinator at the Action Fund.

The post Impeachments and Vaccinations appeared first on Center for American Progress Action.

Learn more about the podcast here.

Daniella Gibbs Léger is the executive vice president for Communications and Strategy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Jesse Lee is a vice president for Communications at the Action Fund. Chris Ford is the senior broadcast coordinator for Communications at the Action Fund. Dwayne Greene is the director of Broadcast Communications at the Action Fund. Adam Peck is the senior media coordinator at the Action Fund.

The post Dr. Reed Tuckson on Racial Disparities in Vaccines and Public Health appeared first on Center for American Progress Action.

Senate Democrats have pledged to protect and expand coverage and affordability, while Georgia’s Republican-controlled state government has refused to take up the commonsense option to expand Medicaid coverage, even as residents face the pandemic’s dual economic and public health crises. At a time when Democrats are proposing new coverage expansions, such as Rep. Lauren Underwood’s (D-IL) bill to expand financial assistance for coverage or President-elect Joe Biden’s public option reform, Georgia leadership has let down its residents by refusing to implement existing, cost-effective options.

In his battle for reelection during the runoff, for example, Sen. David Perdue has been attempting to pin the blame for Georgia’s health care woes on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and has voted 10 times against protections for people with preexisting conditions. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, also in a runoff, supports a state proposal that will divert enrollment away from health plans that comply with the ACA’s consumer protections and benefit rules and has boasted that she doesn’t disagree with anything President Donald Trump has said or done—presumably including his repeated sabotage of the ACA. In October, Sens. Perdue and Loeffler both voted against defunding the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to repeal the ACA, affirming their willingness to strip coverage from more than 20 million Americans.

The irony is that Georgia Republicans have failed their residents by refusing federal dollars to expand Medicaid under the ACA, a move that would have provided health coverage to thousands of uninsured residents and granted a financial boost to struggling rural hospitals.

Georgia’s refusal to expand Medicaid hurts low-income residents

Under the Affordable Care Act, states have the option to extend Medicaid coverage to adults up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. The federal government provides 90 cents of funding for every $1 a state spends on covering people in this group. States that implemented the ACA’s Medicaid expansion have seen far greater reductions in uninsurance. Medicaid expansion not only directly benefits the newly eligible adults who enroll but also creates a “welcome mat” effect that improves coverage rates among previously eligible yet uninsured children. Studies have shown that state Medicaid expansion results in fewer people with medical debt and increased likelihood of a regular source of care. Medicaid expansion can have positive impacts even beyond health care: Higher levels of Medicaid enrollment were associated with lower rates of eviction among low-income families in California.

To date, 38 states and Washington, D.C., have adopted the ACA’s Medicaid expansion; Georgia is among the 12 that have not. According to the Urban Institute, if Georgia fully implemented Medicaid expansion, 646,000 more Georgians would be covered by Medicaid, not including the additional enrollment that could be expected due to the pandemic-induced economic crisis. Compounding this health care blunder for low-income Georgians, Sens. Perdue and Loeffler have spoken out against further unemployment relief this year. Expansion would reduce the number of uninsured people in Georgia by 30 percent and enable newly eligible workers trapped in unaffordable job-based coverage to reduce their health care costs. It could also provide financial relief to small-business owners: It would lower health care expenses for small firms that employ low-income workers and for self-employed people who would qualify for free or low-cost care under expanded Medicaid. 

While the U.S. Senate would not be able to affect what is a state-level option on Medicaid expansion, Democratic members of the Senate are likely to support legislation to build upon the ACA, which could include provisions to extend coverage to the more than 2 million people stuck in the Medicaid coverage gap in Georgia and other nonexpansion states. For example, President-elect Biden proposes allowing people with incomes below the federal poverty level to obtain coverage with no premium through a new public option plan.

Rural hospitals need Medicaid expansion

Medicaid expansion would also reduce Georgia hospitals’ burden of uncompensated care. As the Affordable Care Act took effect, hospital uncompensated care fell, although the relative reduction was more than twice as large in Medicaid expansion states—a 55 percent decrease from 2013 to 2016—than in nonexpansion states. Expanding Medicaid to cover more Georgians would offer a lifeline to the state’s struggling rural hospitals. Dozens of rural hospitals have closed over the past several years, and these closures have occurred disproportionately in states that have not expanded Medicaid.

More than a half-dozen hospitals in rural Georgia have closed since 2010. Just last month, Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center in Cuthbert closed its doors after 70 years in operation. One-quarter of Georgia’s rural hospitals are at “high risk of financial distress,” according to a 2019 study by researchers at the University of North Carolina, indicating the probability of closure or reduced services at those 17 hospitals is “significantly greater” than that at other rural hospitals.

Struggling Georgia hospitals urgently need help from federal policymakers as well. Hospitals across the country have been strained by COVID-19 and are facing a new surge of coronavirus patients. The pandemic has also caused hospital revenues to drop due in part to deferred care, a challenge that small rural and independent hospitals may not have the financial cushion to survive. Congress provided some relief for providers this past spring, but much of the money initially went to already-wealthy health care systems, and many rural Georgia providers were deterred by the byzantine rules on receiving the funding available from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The HEROES Act, which was passed by the Democratic-led House of Representatives in May and again in October, would provide an additional $50 billion in relief for health care providers and address other crucial needs, including funding for the public health response and financial assistance for families and small businesses. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) refused to take up HEROES, instead advocating for the less generous HEALS Act, which included just $25 billion for provider relief. In September, McConnell sought to advance a “skinny” version of stimulus legislation, which received votes of support from Sens. Perdue and Loeffler.

Georgia is backtracking on health coverage

Rather than accept generous federal funding to expand Medicaid eligibility under the ACA, Georgia sought and received federal approval from the Trump administration for a plan that will not cover nearly as many people as Medicaid expansion would. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s plan also makes Medicaid eligibility conditional upon meeting burdensome work reporting requirements, even though similar requirements in Arkansas have resulted in coverage loss, confusion, and poorer health and financial outcomes, all while failing to increase employment rates. In fact, Georgia’s program adds burdensome reporting requirements to address a virtually nonexistent problem: 93 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries are already working or unable to work due to school, caregiving, disability, or illness.

With full implementation of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, nearly 650,000 Georgians would gain Medicaid coverage, according to the Urban Institute, and the number of uninsured people in the state would drop by 31 percent. The Georgia plan, by contrast, will increase Medicaid enrollment in Georgia by only 25,000 to 52,500 people over the next five years, and the state will not receive any federal funding for enrollees newly eligible under the plan.

The plan also makes changes to the market for individual health insurance that will divert consumers away from comprehensive insurance that protects people with preexisting conditions and make it harder for them to shop for high-quality plans. Georgians currently use the federally administered HealthCare.gov portal to enroll in ACA marketplace coverage and coverage under Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Georgia’s plan would eliminate this centralized portal for enrollment in individual market plans; in the words of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Georgia’s waiver proposes a free-for-all run by brokers and insurers.”

Web-based brokers and insurers would connect directly with potential enrollees to guide them through enrollment. Because brokers typically receive a higher monthly commission for short-term “junk-plans” that discriminate against people with preexisting conditions than for ACA plans held to rigorous quality standards, they may be incentivized to steer healthier enrollees into cheaper, junk insurance plans, potentially exposing them to astronomical costs if they get sick—and making comprehensive, ACA-compliant coverage more expensive for others.

The HealthCare.gov marketplace includes a “no wrong door” application to connect consumers with the program best suited for them, but brokers on a privatized system would have no obligation to direct people eligible for Medicaid, CHIP, and subsidies toward more affordable options. Medicaid plans generally confer no commission to brokers and agents, so brokers may refuse to help Medicaid-eligible consumers complete the process. They could even direct consumers who don’t know they are Medicaid-eligible to enroll in pricier, private coverage.

Conclusion

Without a Senate majority supportive of the Affordable Care Act, even the possibility of Medicaid expansion remains in danger. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the ACA repeal lawsuit, in which Trump’s Department of Justice has argued that the entire ACA must be struck down because the law’s individual mandate penalty—which has been zeroed out—is unconstitutional. Over the past year, Senate Democrats and Democratic candidates have espoused measures that would protect the ACA and expand health care coverage. Such proposals would offer important relief to Georgians, including rural providers struggling to stay afloat and residents stuck in the Medicaid gap.

Emily Gee is the health economist of Health Policy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Nicole Rapfogel is a research assistant for Health Policy at the Action Fund.

The post The Future of Health Care in Georgia appeared first on Center for American Progress Action.

Learn more about the podcast here.

Daniella Gibbs Léger is the executive vice president for Communications and Strategy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Jesse Lee is a vice president for Communications at the Action Fund. Chris Ford is the senior broadcast coordinator for Communications at the Action Fund. Dwayne Greene is the director of Broadcast Communications at the Action Fund. Adam Peck is the senior media coordinator at the Action Fund.

The post Dr. Angela Rasmussen on New COVID-19 Vaccines and the State of the Coronavirus Pandemic appeared first on Center for American Progress Action.

This case will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court just one week after the election, which is why the president and Senate Republicans are rushing to install another rubber stamp for their political agenda following the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—despite just four years ago having opposed filling a Supreme Court vacancy during an election. This rushed confirmation push is opposed by the American people and comes while voting in the election is already underway.

For years, Senate Republicans have voted to weaken these protections and eliminate the ACA, which has helped tens of millions of Americans gain access to health care and takes important steps to force insurers to put patients’ needs over profits. In doing so, they are simply giving the wealthiest Americans another massive tax cut. Following massive backlash at the ballot box in 2018 following their health care repeal push, Republican Senators are now running feverishly from their records—airing false television ads that suggest they will always protect preexisting conditions despite voting to do the opposite.

This analysis provides a comprehensive look at how many times Senate Republican incumbents have voted to weaken the ACA’s protections for preexisting conditions and makes clear why voters do not trust their efforts to push through a lifetime appointment that would put Americans’ health care at risk.

Table 1

Will Ragland is the research director in the Center for American Progress Action Fund War Room. Colin Seeberger is the director of media relations at the Action Fund.

Methodology

The above vote counts are based on a Center for American Progress Action Fund analysis of votes taken by the current Senate Republican caucus—either as part of the U.S. Senate or the House of Representatives—since the ACA was originally passed in 2010. Each vote was on the passage or advancement of legislation that would have resulted in diminishing or eliminating protections for those with preexisting conditions.

The following votes were used for this analysis:

• Senate roll call vote 200 on the motion to invoke cloture: motion to proceed to S. 4653 (October 1, 2020)
• Senate roll call vote 337 on S.J. Res. 52 (October 30, 2019)
• Senate roll call vote 226 on S.J. Res. 63 (October 10, 2018)
• Senate roll call vote 179 on S. Amdt. 667 to H.R. 1628 (July 28, 2017)
• Senate roll call vote 169, on S. Amdt. 271 to H.R. 1628 (July 26, 2017)
• Senate roll call vote 168 on the motion to waive all applicable budgetary discipline on S. Amdt. 270 to H.R. 1628 (July 25, 2017)
• Senate roll call vote 167 on motion to proceed on H.R. 1628 (July 25, 2017)
• Senate roll call vote 26 on the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 3 (January 12, 2017)
• Senate roll call vote 329 on passage of H.R. 3762 (December 3, 2015)
• Senate roll call vote 253 on the cloture motion for S. Amdt. 2328 to S. Amdt. 2327 to S. Amdt. 2266 to H.R. 22 (July 26, 2015)
• Senate roll call vote 9 on S. Amdt. 13 to S. 223 (February 2, 2011)
• House roll call vote 58 on the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 3 (January 12, 2017)
• House roll call vote 256 on passage of H.R. 1628 (May 4, 2017)
• House roll call vote 58 on passage of H.R. 596 (February 3, 2015)
• House roll call vote 478 on H.J. Res. 59 (September 20, 2013)
• House roll call vote 154 on passage of H.R. 45 (May 16, 2013)
• House roll call vote 88 on H. Con. Res. 25 (March 21, 2013)
• House roll call vote 460 on passage of H.R. 6079 (July 11, 2012)
• House roll call vote 151 on agreeing to H. Con. Res. 112 (March 29, 2012)
• House roll call vote 277 on agreeing to H. Con. Res. 34 (April 15, 2011)
• House roll call vote 14 on passage of H.R. 2 (January 19, 2011)

The post The Number of Times Every Senate Republican Voted To Attack Preexisting Condition Protections—Their Rushed Supreme Court Confirmation Will Be the Latest appeared first on Center for American Progress Action.

Learn more about the podcast here.

Daniella Gibbs Léger is the executive vice president for Communications and Strategy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Ed Chung is the vice president for Criminal Justice Reform at the Action Fund. Jesse Lee is a vice president for Communications at the Action Fund. Chris Ford is the senior broadcast coordinator for Communications at the Action Fund. Dwayne Greene is the director of Broadcast Communications at the Action Fund. Adam Peck is the senior media coordinator at the Action Fund.

The post Evergreen Action’s Jamal Raad: The West Coast Is on Fire appeared first on Center for American Progress Action.

Despite this knowledge, in the late winter and early spring, Trump frequently claimed the common flu was more lethal; held six indoor rallies and attended the Daytona 500; mocked lawmakers pleading for a national plan; and hosted a function for the Brazilian delegation at Mar-a-Lago, where several attendees contracted COVID-19. Trump delayed issuing critical social distancing guidelines in March then let them expire prematurely at the end of April while pushing to get rid of them even sooner in time for the Easter holiday. He pushed states still locked down to reopen, disparaged mask wearing, and started holding indoor rallies against the urgence of public health officials in June.

Trump’s chaotic and mismanaged response has resulted in tens of thousands of preventable deaths. According to a Columbia University study, if the president had called for social distancing measures just one week earlier than when he did, 36,000 deaths would have been prevented. And, if Trump had acted two weeks earlier, 84 percent of deaths and 82 percent of cases could have been prevented. Instead, he contradicted and ignored guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; allowed massive shortages of personal protective equipment to occur under his watch; and pressured state and local leaders to reopen, spurring a second spike in states across the country.

When his actions are called into question, Trump points to his so-called travel bans and claims they saved millions of lives—a claim with no “scientific basis” to back it up. The China travel ban—which was less of a ban and more of a set of restrictions with many loopholes—allowed nearly 40,000 people into the United States from China during the two months after the policy was put in place. Trump claims he was early to act, but 38 countries put in place similar or stricter policies on or before Trump’s restrictions were implemented. An estimated 430,000 people traveled from China since the first U.S. case was confirmed. Forty days passed after the China travel policy went into effect before he put in place travel restrictions for Europe on March 11. By that point, the virus was already festering in New York, where the country’s largest outbreak occurred.

Even as we approach this tragic 200,000 deaths marker, Trump declines to take any responsibility for this failure; fails to seriously acknowledge the significant loss of lives; refuses to present a serious national response; rebuffs any engagement with Congress on further substantive responses; and continues to demand every state and school fully reopen without providing funding or planning to do so safely. States that followed his political demands, such as Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Georgia, then became the new epicenters with the highest case levels that the country had seen to date.

Trump’s negligence has led to roughly the equivalent of each of these city’s populations dying off—or more. We should mark their passing, and recognize the gravity of this milestone, even when our president does not.

Unfortunately, little recovery is in sight according to former Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor Tom Bossert, who recently tweeted, “At this point, there’s virtually no chance we don’t hit a half million dead Americans from #coronavirus.” It didn’t have to be this way. In fact, just across our northern border, Canada reported zero deaths in a day last Friday for the first time since March while the U.S. daily average continues to be roughly 1,000 fatalities. President Trump is attempting to put the pandemic behind him for political purposes. It is past time for the White House to be honest with the American people, squash the virus like others have, and work toward a safe recovery.

Will Ragland is the research director at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

*Authors’ note: Populations of 50,000 or more.

The post Chaos Has a Price: The Stunning Human Loss From COVID-19 appeared first on Center for American Progress Action.

Learn more about the podcast here.

Daniella Gibbs Léger is the executive vice president for Communications and Strategy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Ed Chung is the vice president for Criminal Justice Reform at the Action Fund. Jesse Lee is a vice president for Communications at the Action Fund. Chris Ford is the senior broadcast coordinator for Communications at the Action Fund. Dwayne Greene is the director of Broadcast Communications at the Action Fund. Adam Peck is the senior media coordinator at the Action Fund.

The post Modeling a Path Forward With Newark Mayor Ras Baraka appeared first on Center for American Progress Action.

Learn more about the podcast here.

Daniella Gibbs Léger is the executive vice president for Communications and Strategy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Ed Chung is the vice president for Criminal Justice Reform at the Action Fund. Jesse Lee is a vice president for Communications at the Action Fund. Chris Ford is the senior broadcast coordinator for Communications at the Action Fund. Dwayne Greene is the director of Broadcast Communications at the Action Fund. Adam Peck is the senior media coordinator at the Action Fund.

The post Donald Trump’s Ongoing Culture of Corruption and How To Effectively Contact Trace, With CAP Action’s Adam Conner appeared first on Center for American Progress Action.