In upcoming legislation by the US Congress called "Cares II" the need to open enrollment for low-income Americans and ALL those affected by COVID-19 must be addressed. I have said from the beginning that the USA Medicaid health care benefit from the federal government MUST be immediately available to all those diagnosed with COVID-19. That should be the case regardless of any private insurance they may have because they can lose that insurance in "stay at home" orders.
The Trump administration has refused to open the health care exchanges as well. This is nonsense. Never in the history of this country has health care insurance, be it public or private, been more important.
The USA has a long way to go to provide for Americans without healthcare. The COVID-19 cases and deaths are heavily weighted with minority casualties. That is a socio-economic paradigm that must be addressed. The Affordable Care Act has been ravaged by this administration and it shows a profound disdain for the needy among us.
The next legislation must expand Medicaid for those in need. The language in the legislation MUST be explicit to avoid any manipulation and misdirection of funds.
