Here’s how Biden can give free medical care

Those affected by the coronavirus have an option for free medical care codified in the Social Security Act of 1935. Section 1881A of the Act refers to any individuals subject to an “environmental exposure.” Using this law, the incoming Biden administration can give all 11 million people infected with COVID the option for free Medicare coverage immediately.

The primary pilot program in Section 1881A is the Libby, Montana program. The residents of the small Montana town who were exposed to hazardous airborne asbestos from a vermiculite mine owned by W.R. Grace Company, were made eligible for Medicare, for free, at the discretion of the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Buried in the United States Code are countless options for a president to help people. The executive branch is also given the authority to establish “optional pilot programs” to any area subject to a public health emergency declaration. Joe Biden ran against a single payer system in the election. But he did run on free coronavirus treatment for all those infected, and triggering Section 1881A would do just that.

Of course, we know that Biden is another establishment-serving president but still, this an option spelled out in the law of the land. Executive order can accomplish this; Congress not needed.

David Dayen discusses this more thoroughly in the November 17, 2020 issue of “The American Prospect.” The story is part of the Prospect’s series on how the next president can make progress without new legislation.