Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
It's Not Just The Unemployment Totals Digging An Economic Hole, It's Delays In Benefits To Needy
The New York Times: Jobless Numbers Are ‘Eye-Watering’ But Understate The Crisis
Nearly a month after Washington rushed through an emergency package to aid jobless Americans, millions of laid-off workers have still not been able to apply for those benefits — let alone receive them — because of overwhelmed state unemployment systems. Across the country, states have frantically scrambled to handle a flood of applications and apply a new set of federal rules even as more and more people line up for help. On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that another 4.4 million people filed initial unemployment claims last week, bringing the five-week total to more than 26 million. (Cohen, 4/23)
The Washington Post: A Growing National Backlog For Unemployment Benefits Threatens Millions Of Jobless Americans
Holly Strout is a 47-year-old event planner in Volusia County, Fla., not far from Orlando, where she was born and raised. There’s just one problem: The state where she has lived her entire life didn’t seem to know that. For days, Strout had been trying to file for unemployment benefits, joining millions of Americans unexpectedly out of a job because of the deadly coronavirus. Try as she might, though, Florida’s beleaguered system would not verify her identity. (Romm and Long, 4/23)
The Wall Street Journal: Frustrations Build For Those Still Awaiting IRS Stimulus Checks
Most Americans have received their stimulus money but millions are still waiting as an understaffed IRS contends with electronic payments bouncing back and taxpayers griping about difficulties using the agency’s website. People who closed old bank accounts or used tax-preparation companies are having trouble determining when they’ll get the payments of $1,200 per adult and $500 per child. Others struggle with error messages on the Internal Revenue Service website. (Rubin, 4/23)
USA Today: COVID-19 Boosts Demand, Pressure On Medicaid Amid Job Losses
Expanded and increased funding of Medicaid is needed more than ever so the people most susceptible to serious illness with COVID-19 can afford health care, proponents of the program say. The 14 states that didn't extend Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act are under new pressure to do so to help stop coronavirus' spread. A new law requiring free coronavirus testing for everyone also boosted the share of Medicaid costs paid by the federal government. This week, the National Governors Association asked for this federal match to be nearly doubled, but only for states that expanded Medicaid. (O'Donnell, 4/23)
WBUR: Unemployment Claims Are Falling In Mass., But Another Spike Is Coming
Initial unemployment claims in Massachusetts continued to decline last week, falling to less than half the record high of late March, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Labor Department. New applications for unemployment insurance totaled 80,345 in the week that ended April 18. Lest anyone think job losses are stabilizing, however, the state Department of Unemployment Assistance foreshadowed another spike, saying more than 200,000 people who were previously ineligible for benefits have applied since Monday. (Borchers, 4/23)
San Francisco Chronicle: More Than $200 Million For SF Workers Is Locked Up. Why Can’t The Jobless Tap It During The Coronavirus Crisis?
More than 1 in 6 San Franciscans will soon be out of work, according to the mayor’s estimates. Lines at food pantries stretch down the block. More city residents have already filed for unemployment benefits than during the 2007-09 recession. And yet there’s $203 million sitting largely untouched that belongs to workers, but which so far they can’t easily access or use for necessities like food. (Knight, 4/24)
