USofCare Releases New Set of Federal Policy Recommendations to Combat the COVID-19 Pandemic

Washington, D.C.-Today, United States of Care (USofCare) released a second round of Congressional policy recommendations as lawmakers develop the next federal legislative response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic will impact nearly every aspect of American life for years to come and has laid bare the interconnectivity between our personal access to affordable health care, our financial security, and to each other.

The policy recommendations were developed around the following four priorities:

• Provide accurate information and clear recommendations that people need to be safe from the virus.
• Build a reliable health care system that is adequately resourced to support front-line workers and available when they need it both now and after the pandemic.
• Provide people with the financial and health care security they need to weather COVID-19.
• Build a COVID-19 response and health care system which cares for the most vulnerable.

“We have made considerable progress in slowing the spread of COVID-19 thanks to widespread social distancing, and successful measures taken by the states. We must maintain an aggressive and proactive posture towards recovery,” said USofCare Executive Director Emily Barson. “The current crisis offers our nation a unique opportunity to create a more accessible, affordable health care system. The actions we take now to protect vulnerable communities, support front-line health care workers, and address the personal financial realities of millions of people, while resourcing the health care system to combat the pandemic, will set us on a path to healing as a country.”

Since the beginning of the outbreak, USofCare has focused on providing resources and insights to help equip and mobilize federal, state, and local government responses and address what people are most concerned with: protecting and providing for themselves and their loved ones in this time of great uncertainty. Today’s proposal was developed via close work between USofCare staff, our diverse leadership, community leaders, and health care advocates, and organized around themes we have heard from experts and the general public. The wide-ranging perspectives highlight the importance of addressing immediate critical needs, such as supporting front-line workers, while making meaningful national investment in the entirety of our health care system to both weather COVID-19 and better prepare for the next pandemic.