President-Elect Biden Announces COVID-19 Relief Proposal
In addition to stimulus checks and additional funding for public health, the "American Rescue Plan" announced on Thursday by President-Elect Biden calls for expanding community health centers. Page four of the proposal reads, "While COVID-19 has devastated the entire country, it has hit some groups and communities of color much harder than others. President-elect Biden is committed to addressing the disparities evident in the pandemic at every step, from ensuring equitable distribution of vaccines and supplies to expanding health care services for underserved communities. His proposal includes funding to provide health services for underserved populations, including expanding Community Health Centers and investing in health services on tribal lands. These funds will support the expansion of COVID treatment and care, as well as our ability to provide vaccination to underserved populations.”
The plan does not provide any details on dollar amounts or how the CHC expansion would be implemented.
Other elements of the rescue plan include:
- Mount a $20 billion national vaccination program in partnership with states, localities, and Tribes. This will include launching community vaccination centers nationwide and deploying mobile vaccination units to hard-to-reach areas. Also, ensure that everyone receives the vaccine for free, regardless of their immigration status.
- Invest $50 billion in a massive expansion of testing, including for purchasing rapid tests, expanding lab capacity, and helping schools and local governments implement regular testing protocols.
- Fund 100,000 public health workers to perform vaccine outreach and contact tracing in the short term, and eventually to transition into community health roles.
- Address shortages of critical supplies, including PPE, by investing $30 billion to provide 100% federal reimbursement for critical emergency response resources to states, local governments, and Tribes, including deployment of the National Guard. Also invest $10 billion to expand domestic manufacturing for pandemic supplies.
- Extend and expand emergency paid leave measures until September 30, 2021.
- Reduce the number of uninsured persons by having Congress subsidize (COBRA) through the end of September, and expand and increase Premium Tax Credits for Marketplace plans.
- Expand access to behavioral health services by asking Congress to appropriate $4 billion to HRSA and SAMHSA.
Group of Republican Legislators Ask Gov. Stitt to Hold Back on Managed Care
Twenty-five Republican state representatives and one Republican state senator signed on to a letter addressed to Governor Stitt this week discouraging the state from pursuing managed Medicaid. "When looking at states with the best Medicaid programs – Oklahoma coming in at No. 4 – they have chosen not use the managed care framework," the lawmakers said. "Furthermore, the states performing the worst all have commercial managed health care programs. Why would we change to a managed care program when ours has been recognized as one of the best in the nation?" Legislative session begins February 1, and contracts from the Oklahoma Health Care Authority are expected to be awarded the same month.
Drug Manufacturers Sue HHS Over 340B Advisory Opinion
Drug companies AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Sanofi have filed separate lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in an effort to continue restricting access to 340B discounted prescriptions to contract pharmacies.
On December 30, U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) Office of General Counsel Robert Charrow issued an opinion, writing that the 340B statute’s “core requirement” is that “manufacturers must ‘offer’ covered outpatient drugs at or below the ceiling price for ‘purchase by’ covered entities.” Several drug manufacturers immediately responded that they would not comply with the opinion, which does not hold the force of law but which conveys the agency's official opinion on the law's interpretation.
The lawsuits seek to throw out the advisory opinion and for the federal court to agree that manufacturers are not required to offer 340B prices to contract pharmacies. Read more.
Second Round of PPP Loans Available
A second round of loans for first-time and second-time applicants have been authorized under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which offers low-interest, forgivable loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) for small businesses and other entities to keep workers on the payroll during the COVID-19 crisis.
The PPP was open to businesses and 501(c)(3) nonprofits with 500 or fewer employees, as well as self-employed workers and some companies that are part of food or hotel chains, among others. Eligibility requirements have been modified in this COVID-19 relief package for second-time loan applicants.To qualify for a second loan, entities would have to:
- Employ 300 or fewer workers, instead of the current 500-employee threshold.
- Demonstrate that they had at least a 25% reduction in gross revenue during a quarter in 2020 compared with the same period in 2019, with some exceptions.
- Exhaust their first loan before receiving a second one
Read new guidance from SBA.