By: Sarah Johnson
In this uncertain time, I thought it would be appropriate to take a look at the legislation that is currently being proposed relating to the COVID-19 pandemic we are currently experiencing globally, and that has taken over in the United States the last few weeks.
Let’s talk the basic idea of fighting this virus.
As I am sure everyone is aware, we are living in uncertain times. It seems like federal, state, local, and company policy drastically changes every 12-24 hours. It is hard to keep up with all the moving parts, and to understand why everything is in constant flux. The most important idea to be familiar with when it comes to understanding why certain policies are proposed and adopted, and how experts say we should fight this virus is “flattening the curve”.
What is flattening the curve? Flattening the curve is a term that epidemiologists use to explain why increased social distancing will slow the spread of the virus. The flattening of this curve is done by decreasing the number of people who get sick all at once, so there is not a huge spike in the cases hospitals have to handle. We all are probably aware of this premise on some level, but to explain it, you get sick from coming into contact with someone who is sick, thus making you, a healthy human, also sick. If we can decrease the number of human to human contacts, we can help slow the spread, or flatten the sickness curve, allowing us to better equip our medical infrastructure to handle the cases and increased medical needs of our population by spacing out treatment.
In their article, NPR quotes Drew Harris, a population health researcher at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, to better explain this idea:
If you think of our health care system as a subway car and it’s rush hour and everybody wants to get on the car once, they start piling up at the door. They pile up on the platform. There’s just not enough room in the car to take care of everybody, to accommodate everybody. That’s the system that is overwhelmed. It just can’t handle it, and people wind up not getting services that they need.
Here is a graphical representation of flattening the curve from NPR.
When we realistically look at this virus and its highly contagious nature, it is not necessarily a question of if you will get it, it is more a question of when you will get it. That is why this flattened curve idea is instrumental in helping us survive the epidemic. Spacing out the illness will help us lessen the impact of the virus on our lives, although we all know by the end it will be detrimental. By social distancing and self-isolating we can hopefully move the graph from everyone getting sick within the same two weeks, to spacing out illness over months, making it more cyclical in nature. It is currently believed that people who have recovered from the illness can both not become re-infected by people who are currently sick (because, presumably, they now have built up immunity to COVID-19) and not infect others because they, presumably, are no longer contagious. This article by the Washington Post has a lot of really great animations to help explain flattening the curve and why social distancing is extremely important. This episode of The Rachel Maddow Show helps explain where were are with policies, the idea of being immune to COVID-19 after exposure, and what the future could hold.
Let’s take a look at the current bills.
At the time I am writing this article, there are currently 190 bills that pertain to COVID-19, or, Coronavirus. I first started writing on Monday, March 16 and there were 115 bills. Here is a map of the legislation from around the country.
It is pretty amazing to read through these bills and see the many different aspects of our lives this virus and the response needed to flatten the curve will impact. Being a 20-something making my way through life, so many of the bills address items that are not even close to being applicable to my current life situation (no matter how many times I try to convince my boyfriend our dog is my son).
On a federal level there are many different kinds of bills being proposed that reflect what some states are proposing, while in other cases states are far ahead of the federal level in addressing some issues brought on by COVID-19. We have seen a lot of these discussed in the media, but let’s take a look at some of them that address different types of actions.
It is worth noting that many states have suspended their legislatures for a time, leaving some of the bills below in temporary limbo. Here we must compliment StateScape and this fantastic map they’ve put together to keep track of legislative session status.
When it comes to resources, actions, and support..
The Emergency Response Coordinator Act of 2020 requires the Department of Health and Human Services to designate an official within the department to coordinate federal efforts with respect to COVID-19, this is currently in committee. There has been a lot of coverage addressing the slowness in which the current administration addressed this threat and how it has resulted in the quarantine situations we are currently seeing throughout the country. New York passed legislation that “Permits the governor to issue by executive order any directive necessary to respond to a state disaster emergency; and makes a $40,000,000 appropriation from the state purposes account of the general fund for responding to the outbreak of COVID-19”. Most states that have proposed legislation have something relating to a state of emergency being declared in the state, allocating funds, and how coverage should work for individuals.
When it comes to medical coverage, testing and treatment..
There are many different bills proposed to either cover testing and treatments and to incentivize the private sector to help develop treatments and a vaccine. The Cure the Coronavirus Act was proposed in hopes of expanding the tropical disease priority review voucher program to include COVID-19, which thereby would provide manufacturers with incentives for development of a vaccine. The Coronavirus Vaccine Act directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to conduct or support research to develop a coronavirus vaccine.
US HR6173 would require group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage to cover COVID-19 testing without cost sharing. US HR6214 provide for coverage of testing for COVID-19 at no cost sharing under the Medicare Advantage program.
Border Health Security Act of 2020 states it would aim to strengthen multi-national cooperation to screen for infectious diseases and support vital public health initiatives in border communities that face unique cross-border challenges.
With (hopefully) the increased number of tests, states have to allow labs to perform the tests. New Jersey proposed a bill to authorize all licensed health care facilities and laboratories to collect specimens to test for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It also would allow for a waiver of staffing ratio requirements in order to address demand.
When it comes to families, businesses, and employment..
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act responds to the coronavirus outbreak by providing paid sick leave and free coronavirus testing, expanding food assistance and unemployment benefits, and requiring employers to provide additional protections for health care workers. Specifically, the bill provides FY2020 supplemental appropriations to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for nutrition and food assistance programs, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and nutrition assistance grants for U.S. territories. US HR6207 wants to provide for unemployment benefits to workers affected by the virus, which as the days go on and the social distancing increases, will be more and more of our population as businesses are forced to close.
The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act was signed on March 6th. This bill provides $8.3 billion in emergency funding for federal agencies to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. The bill also provides supplemental appropriations for the Small Business Administration, the Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The supplemental appropriations are designated as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.
New Jersey proposed legislation to automatically extend time to file gross income tax or corporation business tax return if federal government extends filing or payment due date for federal returns. New Jersey also proposed legislation that urges DHS to apply for federal waivers to facilitate and increase access to SNAP benefits during coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak. Massachusetts proposed a bill that would authorize a waiver of the one week waiting period for unemployment benefits.
Our residents are not the only people who will need help during this time, businesses will need bailouts as well. US HR6266 would require the Secretary of Transportation to require operators of cruise vessels or cruise lines to reimburse passengers for cancellation due to COVID-19.
When it comes to children and their schooling..
New Jersey proposed a bill to require school districts to provide school meals or meal vouchers to students eligible for free and reduced price school meals during school closures due to COVID-19 epidemic. US HR6187 aims to allow the Secretary of Agriculture to grant certain waivers under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to address school closures due to COVID-19. The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act states:
It is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress, as a measure of national security, to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation’s children and to encourage the domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities and other food, by assisting the States, through grants-in-aid and other means, in providing an adequate supply of foods and other facilities for the establishment, maintenance, operation, and expansion of nonprofit school lunch programs.
Minnesota proposed legislation that would require compensation for hourly employees employed by a school for school days cancelled due to COVID-19 during the remainder of the school year. New York proposed legislation stating that certain schools would not experience financial harm for reduced enrollment or inability to operate for the full 180 session days due to the outbreak. Louisiana also proposed a bill that suspends certain laws relative to school closures and one that requests BESE suspend statewide standardized assessments for students.
Maine proposed a bill to provide support to students, staff and faculty at postsecondary educational institutions for temporary closures due to infectious diseases and would require institutions reimburse students on a pro rata basis any unused fees previously paid to the institution, including, but not limited to, the cost of room and board and fees for parking, student activities, labs and technology and, if classes are not conducted remotely or through an alternate method as determined appropriate by the institution, tuition. It also requires these institutions create a plan to allow certain students, based on a student’s individual circumstances, to remain on campus and to provide housing and dining options to those students and to compensate staff and faculty for lost compensation due to the temporary suspension.
New Jersey proposed legislation to give schools money to support school facility cleaning and sanitization.
When it comes to elections and running the government..
US HR6202 would require States to adopt contingency plans to prevent the disruption of Federal elections from the COVID-19 virus, because believe it or not, we still have primaries happening and a presidential election coming up! We saw the importance of legislation like this this week, when Ohio had to cancel their primary with an announcement late Monday night the day before the polls were supposed to open as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The order came from Ohio Health Director Dr. Amy Acton, who said she was ordering “the polling locations in the State of Ohio closed on March 17” in order to “avoid the imminent threat with a high probability of widespread exposure to COVID-19 with a significant risk of substantial harm to a large number of the people in the general population, including the elderly and people with weakened immune systems and chronic medical conditions.” With about twenty states still having not had their primary voting for the presidential nominee, this will obviously continue to develop as long as more than one candidate is vying for the nomination.
Louisiana proposed legislation that would allow for the adjournment of the 2020 Regular Session of the Legislature for a period longer than three days. Ohio wants to authorize public bodies to meet via teleconference and video conference during a public health state of emergency as declared by the Governor, and to declare an emergency. A Pennsylvania bill temporarily allows votes to be cast on behalf of members who are not present by an individual they designate and allows for electronic mass communication.
When it comes to everything else..
Washington introduced a bill encouraging healthy practices to reduce the spread of flu. Hawaii has legislation ranging from urging all airlines operating in Hawaii to thoroughly clean and disinfect their aircraft between flights to urging the Governor to create a color-coded advisory system addressing the rapidly changing threat of COVID-19. Alabama’s bills mostly address coverage for testing, but one bill urges individuals to fist bump rather than shake hands. Florida enacted legislation that “Declares the Florida State University Seminoles basketball team, by virtue of tremendous skill on the court and the heart and spirit shown by the players and coaches this basketball season, the 2020 National College Athletic Association basketball champions by default upon cancellation of the NCAA tournament due to concerns raised by the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19”.
In February, US SRes497 was proposed commemorating the life of Dr. Li Wenliang and calling for transparency and cooperation from the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party of China. Dr. Li Wenliang was a Chinese ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital who on 30 December 2019 warned fellow colleagues about a possible outbreak of an illness that resembled severe acute respiratory syndrome, later acknowledged as COVID-19, on WeChat. He ultimately was infected with COVID-19 and passed away as a result.
Tennessee proposed SJR1272 to honor Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a point person on the federal government’s response to coronavirus, was issuing dire warnings about the pandemic, for his invaluable service to the American people during the COVID-19 outbreak and thank him for his ongoing commitment to research, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases.
It will be interesting to see the different approaches states take as we get deeper into this crisis. What will work? What will Americans listen to? How will we cope as a nation? If you have any good coping mechanisms, tips for productivity while working from home, or good causes to support our fellow Americans in need, please comment below! Until then, keep calm, stay home, wash your hands, and snuggle your puppo (or cat, other pet, or plant).
