HOME ABOUT REPORTS CONTACT HELP WANTED
At the end of 2022, Biden and Congress failed to include Covid funding in the 2023 budget. Also, zero dollars were appropriated for Covid in the fiscal year 2024 budget, which was released March 9th. Covid funding hasn't been approved for two years.
And now President Biden and the Democrats have decided that the official public health emergency is over. What this means is that the provision that kept people continuously enrolled in Medicaid has ended. This will result in as many as 18 million people losing Medicaid. Despite claiming that the Covid emergency was "over" in a Sixty Minutes interview, and ending the state of Public Health Emergency, the White House is now going to launch a $5 billion dollar program to partner with private sector companies to speed the development of new coronavirus vaccines and treatments. So clearly the emergency is not "over."
What is particularly inexcusable is that the White House will disband their Covid-19 team in May. Deborah Birx, who served as the nation’s first coronavirus coordinator, suggested that too few anti-pandemic mechanisms have been put in place to justify winding down the team. She said the administration has missed opportunities to improve the monitoring of virus data, invest in the development of more durable vaccines and take other steps that Biden vowed to accomplish in his sweeping covid plan. She lamented the fact that new versions of the virus are allowing it to evade some treatments. And because of that, she states that America's are actually more vulnerable now than they were a year ago. (Washington Post, 3-22-23).
The nightmare of Covid is far from over. The virus continues to spread around the globe.
What is real defense? Defense is keeping a country's citizens safe. So far, over a million Americans have died of Covid-19. One would think funding for Covid-19 would be a key national security priority for our leaders. There was some funding for Covid in the March 2021 budget bill, but this has not been renewed since.
In September of 2021, global leaders asked the U.S. to make a major commitment to fighting Covid on an international level. The U.S. rejected this request. This is part of the reason why genomic surveillance around the world has dropped 90 percent since early 2022.
The costs of Covid are adding up, whether the government wants to pay for it or not. For instance, Long Covid may cause a $3.7 trillion economic impact rivaling the Great Recession.
Last year, President Biden asked for Congress to approve international and domestic Covid funding. $9 Billion was requested for domestic funding for Covid along with other diseases. $1 Billion was requested for global Covid funding.
Unfortunately, Biden has made little effort to fight for this. He actually undermined the whole project by making the totally false statement that the pandemic was "over" in an interview with 60 Minutes. And his request went ignored.
Funding for New Vaccine
White House launches $5B program to speed covid vaccine development (Washington Post, 4-10-23)
Biden's Ending of the Public Health Emergency
10 Things to Know About the Unwinding of the Medicaid Continuous Enrollment Provision (KFF, 4-5-23)
White House disbanding its covid-19 team in May (The Washington Post, 3-22-23)
Fact Sheet: COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Transition Roadmap (HHS.gov, 2-9-23)
Biden’s Ending of the Covid Emergency Is a Public Health Disaster (The Nation, 2-2-23)
Biden Administration Requests Congress Approve Covid Funding
The President Requests Emergency Supplemental Funding for Covid 19 (The White House, 11-15-22)
In this letter, the Biden Administration requests that Congress approves funding for Covid 19 in 2023. The request includes the need to fight new subvariants and to combat the virus globally by increasing access to the vaccine.
Letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi From the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (PDF)
This letter is a request for $9 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services to address the ongoing Covid-19 virus, provide vaccines for the uninsured and underinsured, restore the smallpox vaccine supply used during the monkeypox response, and also to treat HIV and Hepatitis C.
There is also an additional request in this letter for $1 billion for Global Health Programs to provide Covid-19 vaccines and treatment for other illnesses, such as HIV. While $1 billion is better than nothing, this is far less than what is needed. As we state below in this report, experts have said that the U.S. needs to dedicate anywhere from $20 billion to $50 billion to help keep the globe vaccinated against Covid.
Biden Administration Has Shifted Covid Costs to Patients and Insurers
The Biden administration is shifting more control of pricing and coverage to the healthcare industry in ways that could generate sales for companies—and costs for consumers—for years to come. (Wall Street Journal, 8-18-22)
The Department of Health and Human Services intends to hold a planning session on Aug. 30 that would bring together representatives from drugmakers, pharmacies and state health departments with a stake in a Covid-19 treatment industry. (Wall Street Journal, 8-18-22)
Also see: 'Terrible Idea': Biden Preparing to Shift Costs of Covid Treatments, Vaccines to Patients (Common Dreams, 8-19-22)
No New Money For Covid in the Inflation Reduction Act
The Manchin-Schumer bill, officially called the "Inflation Reduction Act of 2022," does nothing to address the need for universal health coverage. It did not even remove the ban on buying health insurance outside of a limited period for Affordable Health Care (Obamacare) and Medicare Part D. It did continue some Obamacare subsidies but this is far from what is needed. It approved no new funding for COVID at home and abroad. The bill does nothing about health care in general.
This is a dysfunctional situation. When will Covid aid be passed? We don't know because the Senate doesn't come back until the second week of September and that's going to be very busy. So this is a failure of the system.
How many more have to die in the U.S. for our government to take this threat seriously? 2 million? 3 million?
We urge Congress to come back as soon as possible and to fund Covid. Congress should find a bipartisan solution to this crisis.
We Need More for Global Covid Funding
Experts have stated that the U.S. needs to dedicate anywhere from $20 billion to $50 billion to help keep the globe vaccinated. We ourselves have recommended $20 billion.
Back in September 2021, the Secretary-General of the UN and several global health experts called on America to make a major commitment to assisting the world's poor in fighting Covid. In fairness to President Biden, there was some money in the March Covid bill passed by Congress, but that was grossly inadequate for the world's poor.
So this is morally bankrupt. This is a morally defining moment. Our planet is hit by the greatest epidemic within memory and the rich nations refuse to help the poor.
Funding For Testing and Treatment for the Uninsured Has Been Gutted
Perhaps most alarmingly, the federal government has stopped accepting claims for testing and treatment for uninsured people by March 22, 2022—potentially leaving these people on the hook for the cost of getting Covid-19. April 5, 2022 marked the last day uninsured people can get free vaccinations, according to the White House.
EARTH FUTURE ACTION REPORTS
America's State of Emergency 2022
Vaccines for the Rich. Death for the Poor
NEWS LINKS
The coronavirus is speaking. It’s saying it’s not done with us (The Washington Post, 1-8-23)
Long Covid may be ‘the next public health disaster’ — with a $3.7 trillion economic impact rivaling the Great Recession (CNBC, 11-30-22)
'Terrible Idea': Biden Preparing to Shift Costs of Covid Treatments, Vaccines to Patients (Common Dreams, 8-19-22)
Opinion | United States of Death? Study Shows Worrying Mortality Rates of Broken Health System (Common Dreams, 8-15-22)
FACT SHEET: Consequences of Lack of Funding for Efforts to Combat COVID-19 if Congress Does Not Act (White House, 3-15-22)
The Government Is Running Out of COVID Money (VICE, 3-16-22)
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022: What's in It, What's Not (Investopedia, 3-15-22)
FINANCIAL REPORTS
A breakdown of the fiscal and monetary responses to the pandemic (Investopedia)
ORGANIZATIONS
The People’s CDC is a coalition of public health practitioners, scientists, healthcare workers, educators, advocates and people from all walks of life working to reduce the harmful impacts of COVID-19.