Trump Says The Government Will Cover Coronavirus Expenses For The Uninsured
President Donald Trump on Friday announced that the federal government will cover the costs of COVID-19 tests and treatment for people who have no health insurance.
The new program, which administration officials said Friday they were still finalizing, reportedly won’t cover non-coronavirus expenses. It also won’t help people who have insurance but face out-of-pocket costs for their coronavirus care.
These and other shortcomings are likely to become bigger problems in the next few weeks as more people develop the illness and rising unemployment leads to more uninsured. The middle of a lethal pandemic is not exactly the best time to have large numbers of Americans afraid to get medical care because of the prospect of high bills.
Democrats, including presidential candidate Joe Biden, have already proposed more ambitious initiatives than Trump has.
Still, Trump’s initiative will make a big difference for the uninsured. And it will do so by having the federal government pay their COVID-related costs directly ― which is the kind of thing that Trump and his allies in the Republican Party have been known to attack as “socialism.”
What Trump’s Plan Does And Doesn’t Do
The money for Trump’s initiative, first reported by Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, will come from a $100 billion allotment for health care providers that was part of the economic rescue package Congress passed and Trump signed a week ago. The funds will go directly to the hospitals that serve the uninsured, covering each patient’s coronavirus-related charges.
In theory, those uninsured Americans won’t have to pay a penny for that care. That’s a big deal, given the potential of hospital charges from COVID-19 care to wallop the average American’s finances ― and to discourage the uninsured from getting care in the first place.
“This should alleviate any concern uninsured Americans may have about seeking the coronavirus treatment,” Trump said...Continue reading on HuffPost
