Earlier this year, Public Health Law Watch, in collaboration with members of the George Consortium and other partner organizations, hosted a series of legal briefings related to COVID-19 and legal and policy issues associated with the global pandemic. Experts and scholars joined us for bi-weekly livestreamed discussions on these issues. We invite you to read the summaries of selected episodes below! And, enjoy relistening to the series (linked below and archived on our #COVIDLawBriefing webpage).
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4/16/20: Medicaid and the ACA
Mod: Wendy Parmet
Speakers: Nicole Hubberfield, Sidney Watson
Professor Parmet moderates a discussion with Professor Hubberfield and Professor Watson on Medicaid and the ACA on this #COVIDLawBriefing. The talk began by going over the stability of Medicaid’s federal funding, and the programs ability to bail out the states that need the money most. It allows states to be “flexible” in a pandemic as the poorer states can get more from Medicaid. Since it was designed to be “a safety net program” it is more able, then private insurance, to be positioned to help people during this crisis. This is due to the fact that Medicaid does not need to balance its own budget and engages in “countercyclical spending” so it can be positioned to help people when need arises. Additionally, you can sign up for Medicaid at any time with your current income so it can help people who just lost a job. Unfortunately, for states that didn’t expand Medicaid, many people have been stranded. This is especially true in communities of color and lower income communities. One tool available for states would be to expand Medicaid, a process which even during the crisis would only take a simple state amendment. Calling a state of emergency is also essential as it will open up different avenues for states to get funding. On the federal level, congress recently passed a 6.2% increase in federal matching funds for Medicaid, a typical response to a public health crisis. After going through the congressional and state loopholes that allow them to influence the distribution of Medicaid funding, the conversation ended with a discussion of the Trump administration’s relationship with Medicaid. Despite the public health crisis we are facing, the Trump administration has been reluctant to change their stances about many of their health care policy goals including getting people off Medicaid.
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Public Health Law Watch’s COVID Law Briefings are co-sponsored by the Center for Health Policy and Law at Northeastern University School of Law, the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University Beasley School of Law, the Network for Public Health Law, and the APHA Law Section.