Twenty-seven million Americans are uninsured. A trip to the ER for suspected COVID-19 could set them back thousands.
MIAMI (AP) - MIAMI - The Trump administration on Monday reassured governors that they will be reimbursed for at least some of the costs of responding to the spread of the coronavirus, as several states began setting aside millions of dollars to head off a public health crisis. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Vice President Mike Pence addressed state needs for equipment and funding to fight the spread of the coronavirus during a call with governors. He told them told them the administration would find the money to reimburse them. "What the vice president is envisioning as a former governor is 'Look, you guys need to be able to combat this thing. So you guys do what you've got to do. We will appropriate money and then simply reimburse you on the back end,'" DeSantis, a Republican, said at a news conference in Miami after confirming two people had been tested positive in Florida. Coronavirus cases have topped 100 in the U.S. and have spread to nearly a dozen states. Of those, six cases have been fatal, all in Washington state. In Congress, bipartisan negotiations are nearly complete on $7 billion to $8 billion in emergency funding to battle the virus, according to both Democratic and GOP aides. The measure appears on track to be unveiled as early as Tuesday, and the hope is to speed it quickly through both House and Senate by the end of the week. The measure would finance both federal and state response efforts, fund the federal government's drive to develop and produce a vaccine, and offer Small Business Administration disaster loans to help businesses directly affected by coronavirus concerns. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said he hopes Congress will pass the measure within the next 10 days. "We are going to fight for the...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Monday evening that he would direct state health insurers to waive fees related to coronavirus testing in the state amid fears of an outbreak in the U.S.In a series of tweets, Cuomo wrote that cost should not be a barrier for New Yorkers receiving screenings for the novel form of coronavirus behind an outbreak that began in China and has since killed more than 3,000 people worldwide, infecting tens of...