Advocates Say There Must Be Investment In Medicaid Which Will Likely Become Default Insurance Plan For Many

NBC News: Record Number Of Unemployed Americans Will Stress State Medicaid Programs
Andrew Parys, 36, said he didn’t pay off his prosthetic leg at the end of March as planned because he didn’t know whether he’d be able to afford groceries. He worked as a bartender in Hershey, Pennsylvania, until the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the business last month, leading him to be one of the millions of Americans who signed up for unemployment over the past two weeks. While Parys’ employer maintains his health insurance for now, he expects to lose it soon. (McCausland, 4/3)

Kaiser Health News: Medicaid Nearing ‘Eye Of The Storm’ As Newly Unemployed Look For Coverage
As the coronavirus roils the economy and throws millions of Americans out of work, Medicaid is emerging as a default insurance plan for many of the newly unemployed. That could produce unprecedented strains on the vital health insurance program, according to state officials and policy researchers. Americans are being urged to stay home and practice “social distancing” to prevent the spread of the virus, causing businesses to shutter their doors and lay off workers. (Luthra, Galewitz and Bluth, 4/3)

USA Today: Coronavirus Put Millions Out Of Work: How To Get Health Coverage
President Donald Trump said “it doesn’t seem fair” people at a certain income level can’t get Medicaid, but he doesn’t plan to open a “special enrollment period” that would help people who lost jobs because of the coronavirus sign up for their health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. What should a person suddenly jobless and without health care benefits do? And how can the administration prevent another health crisis within the pandemic? (O’Donnell and Alltucker, 4/2)

Modern Healthcare: Utah Suspends Medicaid Work Requirement Due To COVID-19
Utah on Thursday suspended its Medicaid work requirement due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was the only remaining state with an active Section 1115 waiver imposing work requirements on Medicaid expansion enrollees as a condition of keeping their coverage. The suspension was decided on Thursday morning, said Kolbi Young, a spokeswoman for the Utah Division of Medicaid and Health Financing. (Meyer, 4/2)

Meanwhile, in other costs and insurance news —

ABC News: White House Considers Plan To Cover Medical Bills For Millions Of Uninsured Americans 
The White House is considering a plan to cover America’s unpaid medical bills, possibly reimbursing hospitals with cash payouts with some 28 million people uninsured in the United States. President Donald Trump on Thursday described it as “cash payment” that would go to a “certain group of people.” Vice President Mike Pence said the proposal would likely tap some of the $100 billion that is already earmarked for hospitals to compensate them directly for treating uninsured Americans. (Flaherty and Phelps, 4/3)

Boston Globe: Health Insurers Press Congress For Premium Relief
The race begins Friday for a piece of the $349 billion small-business rescue fund dubbed the Paycheck Protection Program. Meanwhile, the people who run the state’s three largest health insurers are already looking ahead, to the next round of federal stimulus funding. (Chesto, 4/2)

Boston Globe: Mass. Health Insurers Offer Help During Coronavirus Crisis 
The state’s biggest nonprofit health insurers are waiving copays and deductibles for COVID-19 treatments. But they’re also giving back to their communities in numerous ways, to help individuals and organizations deal with the financial repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic. In the past two weeks, the state’s four largest insurers have collectively unveiled millions of dollars in community relief efforts. (Chesto, 4/2)

ABC News: ‘Obamacare’ Enrollment Might Be Closed, But You Could Qualify Anyway: What To Know About Lost Health Insurance 
As the nation confronts a fast-moving novel coronavirus pandemic, millions of Americans are fighting another crisis at home: joblessness and a loss of health insurance. It’s a toxic mix that threatens to widen the scope of the crisis, particularly as many Americans don’t even know what their options are. (Flaherty, 4/3)

The New York Times: They’re Running For Office Without Health Insurance During A Pandemic
In the past week and a half, Cori Bush has been hospitalized twice with shortness of breath, sore throat, fatigue, loss of taste and a headache. Told at first that she had pneumonia, she was sent home, only to return to the emergency room when her symptoms didn’t improve. A coronavirus test came back negative, but she was admitted anyway. She was discharged on Wednesday. (Grullon Paz, 4/3)