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America was in a state of emergency even before Covid. But now the situation has become much more dire. Over a million Americans have been killed by Covid. We have the largest Covid death toll in the world. Immediate action is needed; an action agenda is outlined below.
Despite the current health emergency, our government has apparently decided that the emergency is over. The Public Health Emergency is scheduled to end by April 2023. What this means is up to 18 million Americans (including millions of children) will be tossed off Medicaid. What this also means is that the government will stop paying for vaccines, at-home test kits, and some treatments (KHN).
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.
And as of March 1st, 2023, the food stamp benefits added during Covid were taken away from 32 states. Recipient households had their monthly grocery allocations reduced by at least $95. (NBC News)
The nightmare of Covid is far from over. The virus continues to spread around the globe. Congress has cut their commitment to global aid to zero. This is unacceptable.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS WERE KILLED BY A LACK OF HEALTH INSURANCE
Covid victims were killed (according to the British health journal Lancet) because they didn't have adequate health insurance. Even in a “good” year with no epidemic, tens of thousands of Americans die because they don’t have health insurance or can’t afford the out-of-pocket costs.
A March 2021 report by the progressive group Public Citizen found that hundreds of thousands of U.S. COVID deaths could have been avoided under a single-payer system, noting that under such a system, hospitals would be better funded and providers better able to coordinate care for patients.
THE U.S. SPENDS ALMOST AS MUCH ON HEALTH CARE AS REST OF THE WORLD WITH WORST OUTCOME
The United States spends almost as much as the entire world combined on health care, yet millions remain uninsured and drowning in medical debt. Dr. Bezruchka explains much of this in his new book, Inequality Kills Us All: COVID-19's Health Lessons for the World (Amazon). Stephen Bezruchka's Website
Dr. Bezruchka's new book explores just how deadly inequality can be to humanity and explores how even the smallest of policy changes, like parental leave, can make a huge impact on the long-term health of an individual’s life. “Only two countries in the world with a population of a million or more don’t provide [paid] time off to parents after you have your baby. So that is really important. Why do we not have a paid parental leave act in this country?… And this is for the richest, most powerful country in world history,” Dr. Bezruchka said.
The US Spends Almost as Much on Healthcare as the Rest of the World Combined and Has One of the Worst Outcomes (Scheer Post, 11-25-22)
MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WITH HEALTH INSURANCE ARE UNDERINSURED
Millions of Americans suffer under policies that are a bad joke in terms of "coverage."
One of the major problems is that of soaring deductible costs. Average enrollee spending on deductibles more than tripled between 2007 and 2017 (Tarbell, 6-1-21). Is spending $7,000 before one can get their health care covered realistic? No it is not.
The Commonwealth Fund also found that 40% of people in Affordable Care Act plans are underinsured because of high out-of-pocket charges – and many likely never meet their deductibles. As a result, millions of Americans are not going to the doctor or picking up prescriptions. So millions of people with ACA plans, or "Obamacare," as it has been colloquially called, can't even use the policies they have.
WE NEED ACTION NOW
It is morally unacceptable to say that today's emergency is over. We need to treat an emergency like an emergency. Should a million more people have to die before the government takes serious action? The truth is that a million people have died, and the government is doing less now than it did last year.
PROGRESSIVES MUST ACT NOW TO SAVE LIVES!
HERE IS AN ACTION AGENDA:
First, we must keep poor people alive. The following steps need to be done right now.
The State of Public Health Emergency should be continued, rather than ended this spring.
Emergency health care should be given to all who need it. This should include the immediate reduction or elimination of sky-high deductibles.
The so called “open enrollment” system for health insurance and Medicare drug insurance should be abolished. It’s absolute madness to ban people from buying health insurance for most of the year. The health care exchanges must stay open throughout the year. The current deadline for open enrollment is January 15th. So open enrollment has ended. That needs to change.
Medicare needs to be properly funded.
Also, with Medicaid, we cannot kick 18 million low-income Americans (including millions of children) off Medicaid when the nation’s public health emergency ends this Spring. They must be kept on Medicaid.
Congress needs to pass another Covid Relief package. The last one was passed in 2021.
The CDC needs to make sure they have correct information on their website. We are aware they have updated their mask guidance recently to recommend N95 masks. However, the fact that they were telling people not to wear N95 masks is very concerning. This incorrect information is a threat to public safety. It is our hope that they will not put incorrect information on their website in the future.
There also needs to be an increase in the production of N95 masks. Some N95 mask manufacturers were in danger of going broke last summer.
The government should take drastic action to make rapid Covid tests more available.
We must immediately enact paid sick leave for all workers.
A serious campaign must be developed to increase vaccine aid to the world's poor. Congress has cut their commitment to vaccinating the globe to zero. This is unacceptable.
In every other modern state health care is a right. It should be a right here.
RELATED EARTH FUTURE ACTION REPORTS
Key Social Programs Ending for Americans in Autumn 2023 (Earth Future Action)
The Betrayal of Health (Earth Future Action)
Support Covid Funding 2023 (Earth Future Action)
Millions Will Lose Medicaid in the Spring of 2023 (Earth Future Action)
The Urgent Need for Protective Masks During Covid Crisis (Earth Future Action)
Global Vaccination Plan (Earth Future Action)
Social Disaster USA 2023 - Millions of Americans Face Starvation and Poverty (Earth Future Action)
Dead or Alive in Modern America - The Right to Exist (Earth Future Action)
Life and Death in America (Audio) (Earth Future Action)
NEWS ARTICLES
Alcohol consumption surged during the pandemic — and deaths followed (The Washington Post, 7-13-23)
Biden’s Ending of the Covid Emergency Is a Public Health Disaster (The Nation, 2-2-23)