Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) Too many Americans continue to slip through the cracks.
Throughout my time in Congress, I have worked with the firm belief that access to affordable healthcare is a basic human right and an absolute necessity. While great strides have been made over the years, most notably through the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans continue to slip through the cracks.
Since I became chair of the Ways and Means Committee, we have fought to make healthcare more affordable and expand access to coverage, while President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have continued their crusade to weaken the system and to strip protections from those with preexisting conditions. Continuing to improve our healthcare system has always been an urgent and challenging undertaking, but the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing problems and also shone a harsh light on longstanding healthcare inequities in the U.S..
The past several months have been filled with devastation and despair, but they have also highlighted the resilience and strength of our healthcare workers, grocery store employees, postal workers and others in communities throughout the country. This time has also shown that we must demand better health outcomes through targeted investments and increased oversight of existing programs. Strengthening the system will save lives in this pandemic, in future crises and during more stable times. I’m proud of how the Ways and Means Committee acted swiftly and comprehensively to bolster our healthcare system in the face of COVID, but more steps must be taken beyond our emergency response legislation to ensure sustained improvements to U.S. healthcare.
From early on in this crisis, reports showed that health, economic and structural inequalities in our society led to astronomically higher death, infection and hospitalization rates in communities of color. In late May, the Ways and Means Committee convened a hearing during which experts resoundingly confirmed that Black and Indigenous people as well as other people of color are at much greater risk of COVID-19 because their health is adversely affected by discriminatory policies and structural racism. These biases endanger lives, and fixing these systemic problems must be a top priority for Congress. In July I issued a report, Left Out: Barriers to Health Equity for Rural and Underserved Communities, which provides extensive background on the issues impacting health equity in America, and discusses challenges associated with scalable and sustainable solutions to address health inequities and eliminate disparities.
The coronavirus has also exposed the gaps in coverage options. Record-breaking numbers of Americans have lost their jobs during this crisis, as well as their employer-based health coverage. I’ve repeatedly called for the Trump administration to establish a special enrollment period for these individuals to access the affordable insurance options they need.
Residents and staff in nursing homes and long-term-care facilities have been among the hardest-hit populations in the pandemic. In some areas, the nursing home-related deaths made up more than 50% of the total COVID-19 fatalities. This death toll is the result of years of regulatory rollbacks, low standards and pay for workers, and a general disregard for this neglected population. Increased oversight and enforcement would help protect both patient and worker safety.
Lastly, there’s the issue of healthcare staffing. Rural and underserved areas struggle to fill necessary front-line health jobs, and existing staff aren’t receiving adequate protection or ongoing training. Further, data has shown that front-line health workers earning lower wages are disproportionately people of color and women, another example of the virus disproportionately affecting these populations.
We have a moral imperative to equip our healthcare system and society at large with the tools and resources necessary not just to prevent the next pandemic, but also to deliver equal care to all Americans. Race, geography and ability to pay have been determinants of healthcare for far too long, and if we don’t focus our full attention on strengthening care for the most vulnerable, the next health crisis will result in even greater devastation.