Monday’s leak of news that the Biden administration would extend the COVID-19 public-health emergency – which was due to end on Friday – for another 90 days came as no surprise to the White House in what seems to be a permanent emergency. wants.
The Biden administration claims the announcement provides significant regulatory flexibility. But emergency use authorizations for vaccines and treatments are governed by a different statute. The Department of Health and Human Services may also create permanent other regulation flexibilities for telehealth services, such as Medicare coverage.
Why do you keep increasing the emergency? One reason is that Congress in March 2020 barred states from taking ineligible people out of Medicaid rolls during an emergency in exchange for more federal funding. Medicaid enrollment has increased to 95 million – 30% of Americans are now enrolled – from 71 million in December 2019. The emergency expanded Medicaid to GOP states that dropped out of Obamacare expansion. It’s also a boon for insurers in states that pay per Medicaid participant. Hospitals and physician groups support extending the emergency because they worry that state Medicaid payments will be reduced if federal alimony is exhausted.
Another reason: Congress suspended food-stamp work requirements during the Emergency in March 2020 and sweetened benefits to states that kept their declarations. As of April, 41.2 million Americans were receiving food stamps – an average of $228 monthly per person – which is about 4.4 million more than before the pandemic.
Yet if the White House believes COVID remains an emergency, why hasn’t the Food and Drug Administration authorized it?
Vaccination? It was flagged off by the World Health Organization in December. The FDA’s advisory board unanimously endorsed the vaccine about a month ago, because its traditional technology may encourage vaccination amid hesitation.
COVID should not be an emergency only when it is useful to expand the welfare state.
Review and Outlook: Since Elon Musk abandoned his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, the only winners are progressives who support the social media platform’s censorship of ideas that don’t suit their own. Images: Zuma Press / GC Images / Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly
opinion | never ending covid emergency
photo:
Getty Images/iStockPhoto
Monday’s leak of news that the Biden administration would extend the COVID-19 public-health emergency – which was due to end on Friday – for another 90 days came as no surprise to the White House in what seems to be a permanent emergency. wants.
The Biden administration claims the announcement provides significant regulatory flexibility. But emergency use authorizations for vaccines and treatments are governed by a different statute. The Department of Health and Human Services may also create permanent other regulation flexibilities for telehealth services, such as Medicare coverage.
Why do you keep increasing the emergency? One reason is that Congress in March 2020 barred states from taking ineligible people out of Medicaid rolls during an emergency in exchange for more federal funding. Medicaid enrollment has increased to 95 million – 30% of Americans are now enrolled – from 71 million in December 2019. The emergency expanded Medicaid to GOP states that dropped out of Obamacare expansion. It’s also a boon for insurers in states that pay per Medicaid participant. Hospitals and physician groups support extending the emergency because they worry that state Medicaid payments will be reduced if federal alimony is exhausted.
Another reason: Congress suspended food-stamp work requirements during the Emergency in March 2020 and sweetened benefits to states that kept their declarations. As of April, 41.2 million Americans were receiving food stamps – an average of $228 monthly per person – which is about 4.4 million more than before the pandemic.
Yet if the White House believes COVID remains an emergency, why hasn’t the Food and Drug Administration authorized it?
novavax
Vaccination? It was flagged off by the World Health Organization in December. The FDA’s advisory board unanimously endorsed the vaccine about a month ago, because its traditional technology may encourage vaccination amid hesitation.
COVID should not be an emergency only when it is useful to expand the welfare state.
Review and Outlook: Since Elon Musk abandoned his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, the only winners are progressives who support the social media platform’s censorship of ideas that don’t suit their own. Images: Zuma Press / GC Images / Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly
Copyright © 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the print edition, July 12, 2022.