Follow him on Twitter: @DanMartinTalks. 1 digital platform for progressive news, reaching millions of people each month. From the insurer's website on Friday: UnitedHealthcare is waiving member cost-sharing for the treatment of COVID-19 until May 31, 2020, for Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, Individual and Group Market fully insured health plans. Bringing out her … Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) is calling for Amazon to redirect its stock of face masks and hand sanitizer to health care providers nationwide who are dealing with shortages amid an outbreak of the coronavirus. With treatment for Covid-19 not free, and the possibility treatment could necessitate lengthy hospital stays, patients are at risk of receiving giant bills and thus incurring debt that "will be impossible to pay off," Porter added. WE the People should have to pay a … Though the delivery date the companies were estimating was in "early June," the Times noted that the companies could have "reacted to the acute shortage of ventilators in February," producing the equipment by "mid- to late April.". It doesn't work that way. "I don't believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators," Trump said during a March 26 Fox News interview, calling the request "sudden. Katie Porter believes affordable health care is a human right and will fight Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare. If your intention was to visit my official House of Representatives website, please click here. Imports of ventilators and protective equipment decreased between January and February, according to a report released by California Rep. Katie Porter. We all have a role to play in combating #Covid_19. The American Independent is the No. "While it is crucial that some insurers are now are belatedly announcing that they intend to extend their out-of-pocket costs waivers for Covid-19 treatment, it is important to remember that this is late, voluntary, and likely would not have even happened without groups like ours shining a spotlight on the rapidly approaching end dates. There are many battles to be won, but we will battle them together—all of us. And I have been saying this for years. Congresswoman Porter has made standing up for Orange County patients a top priority—because every family deserves access to quality, affordable healthcare. Answer from Katie Porter: I will fight for a Medicare for All system in which every American has quality health insurance. "I request that Amazon purchase a significant quantity of hand sanitizer and face masks, along with all remaining stores of those products still available for sale on the site, and donate them to health care providers across the nation," Porter said, adding that Amazon has an "unparalleled opportunity to continue to use its resources and operational capacity for our collective good. Public Citizen president Robert Weissman welcomed the decisions by some insurers to extend the fee waivers but said it also provided more evidence of the failure of a for-profit health system. We need you. Instead, the data — which relies on value of imports and exports, not the exact number of units bought and sold — shows that ventilator imports dropped by 10% and imports of N95 masks used by nurses and doctors fell by 14.2%. The report cites previously unreported data from the Commerce Department. We don't survive on clicks. The event was pallid enough its star was the fly on Pence's head. Those moves come as UnitedHealth, and major health insurance companies in general, are on track for a banner financial year and can expect "continued year-over-year growth," she wrote. The Honorable Katie Porter . A report released Tuesday by the office of Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) shows the Trump administration failed to adequately increase the stockpile of critical medical equipment during the first two months of the year. Common Dreams has been providing breaking news & views for the progressive community since 1997. Thank you for visiting my campaign website. The report cites previously unreported data from the Commerce Department. Healthcare is a human right. Amazon announced earlier Tuesday that it would suspend shipments of nonessential items to its warehouses in the United States and United Kingdom. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Katie… 1117 Longworth House Office Building . We want the world to be a better place. The data reveals imports of critical medical supplies such as ventilators and masks decreased between January and February, while exports of those needed supplies increased. Historically, candidates have failed to complete our test due to the advice they receive from their advisors and out of fear of negative attack ads. If you can help today—because every gift of every size matters—please do. Washington, DC 20515. Porter said her office received information from a physicians group saying they were notified in late 2019 that they'd be terminated from the network. Despite the optimistic financial outlook for UnitedHealth—and the major public health crisis—the insurer has moved to squeeze out even more profits by reducing patients' access to care, said Porter. The company's own first quarter statements showed total revenue rose 6.8% to $64.42 billion, beating analysts' estimates. Trump attacked the report, which was based on interviews with more than 300 hospitals in 46 states, and called it "fake.". ", Even after the number of cases grew, Trump promised in late February that the number of those sick with COVID-19 "within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.". Without Your Support We Simply Don't Exist. Even though the first U.S. case was confirmed on Jan. 21, Trump didn't declare a national emergency until March 13. %PDF-1.6 %���� We do not create voter guides, nor do we interview or endorse candidates. Porter's report is not the only study shining a light on failures in the official U.S. response to the pandemic. Former international development advocate and communications professional; freelance writer. pic.twitter.com/Fjz90i7bKj. The demand to UnitedHealth comes on the heels of scrutiny of several major health insurers' fast-approaching expiration dates for fee waivers for coronavirus treatment. To remain an independent news source, we do not advertise, sell subscriptions or accept corporate contributions. That is why I will fight for a Medicare for All system and will stand up to the Trump efforts to gut protections for pre-existing conditions. 109 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[]/Index[87 34]/Info 86 0 R/Length 108/Prev 324920/Root 88 0 R/Size 121/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream The freeze will remain in effect until April 5. Healthcare is a human right. Katie has 5 jobs listed on their profile. I will fight for a Medicare for All system in which every American has quality health insurance. An Inspector General report from the Department of Health and Human Services released on Monday showed hospitals were facing a "severe shortage" of COVID-19 tests and of PPE needed to protect nurses and doctors. Washington, DC 20510 . The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax. Andrew Cuomo for more ventilators. She also urged the corporation to push back more proactively against price-gouging of hand sanitizer and face masks on its website, arguing that it has contributed to a “dire need” for these items at medical facilities. endstream endobj 88 0 obj <>/Lang(�� E N - U S)/MarkInfo<>/Metadata 16 0 R/OCProperties<>/OCGs[]>>/PageLayout/OneColumn/Pages 85 0 R/StructTreeRoot 22 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 89 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC/ImageI]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 90 0 obj <>stream No American should ever go bankrupt due to healthcare costs. "We have it totally under control," Trump told CNBC on Jan. 22. Every day of the week, we publish the most important breaking news & views for the progressive community. Trump also refused to take seriously a request from New York's Gov. That is why I will fight for a Medicare for All system and will stand up to the Trump efforts to gut protections for pre-existing conditions. I’m asking CEO @JeffBezos to redirect its stock of face masks and sanitizer to help hospitals fill shortages. As advocacy group Public Citizen has documented, a number of insurance companies had a June 1 end day for partial or full fee waivers. Orange County families are facing skyrocketing healthcare costs, and Congresswoman Porter is committed to reducing costs and … ?������_>��E#.N�}�������_��u���������?_���t��}��݀|���;��tw��a��뫻�Vӛ�����������W����+���]�������������_��:��_�����������������>ٿ��ݻ7���-����K~�e��Ϟ��@9�����w?\���~W\֪z�O�O�/�\�����oo�={���i��@�y��6�~q���M{}��^s��M_�MB�7W?�_��WO��߬��?X������˟�VQ�cG(.����՛�Oo^�9������������� |{������?�:�k��gWw�}^���{Q_Z��?���q]֒D���ŝ/u�֐Җwe�R�յֶ�Y���&R*!��H�wR�QV�%R%�ݷ]XzQy��!��D�iy� Ԥ��JE�dE�2�t��V�z���v�~��bܒ�_dp˂u�sZcn6"Ȫ�ʲj��0R��:l%�J��_v*m�(���vZ�!��d�K� �(���]��H�E�ڟ��][��p�R�r��:1�F�W�.��l�������6�5�~����u��'���,�Úb�\L���t�6�2���ر&�Ll���`0�}E+��,�e�����(���V�s���V�+�����). The contents of this site are ©2020 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc. No American should ever go bankrupt due to healthcare costs. h�bbd```b``� "߁�M R��"Y�H0�&���+X6��5�`6X� �d��Ė��"5րe�@�\'��o�� �g �*���L+� �;K The report concludes that "the Trump Administration failed to prepare for COVID-19 and to protect the health of Americans.". Common DreamsP.O. "It's flat out wrong for the world's largest insurance company to pass costs on to families in the middle of a pandemic—I want answers. The country had reported more than 5,800 confirmed cases and 96 deaths from the disease as of Tuesday afternoon, according to a database from The New York Times. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.