Policy Corner: June 26, 2020

Houses Passes Policing Act

 The U.S. House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, H.R. 7120. The Senate also offered the JUSTICE Act, S. 3985, which was met with resistance. Both bills include provisions regarding changes within law enforcement that states must make or risk losing federal funding. While both bills include provisions relating to chokeholds, the House provisions are more detailed. The Senate bill would ban a tactic that restricts the ability to breathe while aiming to incapacitate the person. While the Senate bill requires a ban on chokeholds, it allows for the use of deadly force if the situation is one that authorizes it . The House bans applying pressure to the throat or windpipe and the restricting blood or oxygen flow to the brain or the ability to breath. The House also bans pressure on the carotid artery. The Senate bill does not address racial profiling, while the House bill calls for a database to collect that information. There is no guidance in either bill regarding the use of force by police. The House bill mandates a requirement that states report use of force to the Department of Justice (DOJ) database, created by the legislation. The Senate also wants states to report to a federal database.

House Committee Advances the ACA Booster Bill while President Urges SCOTUS to Repeal the ACA

The House Rules Committee held a hearing to advance the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, H.R. 1425, in response to President Trump’s announcement that the administration is joining the state Republican Attorney Generals’ lawsuit to nullify the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA). The lawsuit is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS). The house bill would expand financial help for individual health insurance premiums, let Medicare negotiate drug prices, and incentivize the 14 states which have yet to expand to cover low-income uninsured adults. House Democrats are alarmed about eliminating health insurance for millions of Americans during the coronavirus pandemic during which, many Americans are unemployed. Overturning the ACA would also eliminate prohibition of higher insurance prices or denial of coverage based on preexisting conditions.

Democrats led by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra are handling the law’s defense with support from House Democrats. The case brought by Republicans contends that the ACA’s mandate that individuals maintain health insurance or pay a tax penalty – previously upheld under congressional taxing powers – became unconstitutional when Congress eliminated the penalty, and that the mandate’s importance means the entire ACA must also fall. SCOTUS could hear arguments in the case as early as October.

Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Telehealth and Lessons Learned from COVID-19

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing, “Telehealth: Lessons from the COVID-19.” HELP Committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) called for Medicare to permanently lift restrictions that generally limit coverage of telehealth services to rural areas. Sen. Alexander supported expanding the provision of services to other areas as well as expanding the number and range of services Medicare pays for even after the emergency period ends.

GAO Releases Report on COVID-19 Spending

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report on how the administration has handled the $2.6 trillion in emergency assistance that Congress has appropriated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As ofJune 26, four bills have been enacted to address needs of Americans and businesses. GAO has identified several challenges related to the federal response to the crisis as well as recommendations to help address these challenges, including the following:

• Viral testing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported incomplete and inconsistent data from state and jurisdictional health departments on the amount of viral testing occurring nationwide, making it more difficult to track and know the number of infections, mitigate their effects, and inform decisions on reopening communities.
• Distribution of supplies. The nationwide need for critical supplies to respond to COVID-19 quickly exceeded the quantity of supplies contained in the Strategic National Stockpile, which is designed to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies. HHS has worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Defense to increase the availability of supplies.
• Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). As of June 12, the Small Business Administration (SBA) had rapidly processed over $512 billion in 4.6 million guaranteed loans through private lenders to small businesses and other organizations adversely affected by COVID-19. GAO recommends that SBA develop and implement plans to identify and respond to risks in PPP to ensure program integrity, achieve program effectiveness, and address potential fraud. SBA neither agreed nor disagreed, but GAO believes implementation of its recommendation is essential.

BIAA gratefully acknowledges the Centre for Neuro Skills and Avanir Pharmaceuticals for their support for legislative action.