Families USA’s COVID-19 Recommendation Letter to the Hill

The recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States has exposed many deficiencies within our public health and health care systems. The disease’s spread has been made worse because of inadequate testing, poor coordination, non-interoperable health information technology, and inconsistent, non-scientific information coming from key leaders. In a health care system in which 28 million people (and growing) are uninsured and millions more (and growing) face significant financial obstacles to accessing care, including unaffordable deductibles, it is unsurprising that this disease appears to be on the path toward a nationwide epidemic. The prompt detection of disease requires patients who promptly seek necessary care, which in turn requires health coverage that makes care affordable and accessible. 
 
On behalf of Families USA, a leading national consumer health care organization dedicated to building a nation where the best health and health care are equally accessible and affordable to all, we offer recommendations in two categories. These two categories reflect our most urgent and time-sensitive problems stemming from the pandemic: first, lowering barriers to access to health care both by reducing the number of people without health insurance and by reducing out of pocket costs for people with health insurance; and, second, mitigating the economic impact of looming recession due to the massive disruption caused by the pandemic. Some of these recommendations are already included in legislation moving through Congress. We urge you to advance these as soon as possible and to include our other recommendations in this package or in a near-future effort.

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