BOWLING GREEN, OH – Today, Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH5) invited former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, to join him in hosting a teleconference discussion with Fifth Congressional District county health commissioners and hospital CEOs and presidents.
“Everyone has an important role to play in helping to stop the spread of the coronavirus,” said Latta. “Our hospitals and local health professionals are doing their best to help Americans through this pandemic. During our call, Dr. Gottlieb shared that different kinds of swabs are being introduced by providers to be applicable for testing COVID-19 in the coming weeks. He also stressed the importance of being as proactive as possible, so we are better prepared for an increased number of people who need care and supplies from hospitals and medical providers. With his knowledge and background, Dr. Gottlieb has been immensely helpful during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and I want to thank him for his leadership.”
“There are things we can do to help expand hospital capacity and better support and protect front line healthcare workers, and we need to be focused on these challenges,” said Gottlieb. “The use of telehealth services can help expand capacity and lower the chance of the virus being spread through people who are already infected in the community. This will also help hospitals protect their providers and other patients who are in their care and at risk of infection. Congressman Latta is working to keep his constituents as updated as possible and I applaud his efforts to provide his community relief during this uncertain time.”
For coronavirus updates, click here to visit Congressman Latta’s website.
OHIO SPECIFIC GUIDANCE:
Public inquiries should be directed to the Ohio Department of Health COVID-19 hotline at 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634) or the ODH website at coronavirus.ohio.gov. The public hotline is available every day from 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
Despite the rapidly changing national circumstances driven by COVID-19, the House of Representatives has voted to provide direct assistance to the American people in this difficult time.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act passed by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 363-40. This legislation provides immediate, targeted relief to American workers affected by COVID-19 and supports public health agencies fighting this virus. On Monday, the House agreed to a technical corrections bill by unanimous consent to ensure that the legislation reflects the agreement reached on Friday.
H.R. 6201 — The Families First Coronavirus Response Act:
- Ensures free testing for all Americans:
- Requires all commercial insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, Indian Health service, and TRI-CARE to cover, and impose no cost-sharing for testing diagnosis of COVID-19
- Appropriates $1.2 billion to help cover the costs of coronavirus testing, including $142 million to eliminate copay requirements for service members and veterans
- Requires paid sick leave for impacted American workers:
- Businesses with fewer than 500 employees are required to provide 14 days of paid sick leave to employees affected by COVID-19.
- Additionally, the Secretaries of Treasury and Labor will have regulatory authority to provide flexibility so small businesses under 50 employees are not unduly harmed
- Affected employees include those with COVID-19, under quarantine, caring for someone affected, and with children whose school has closed.
- These provisions sunset after December 31, 2020
- Provides for vulnerable Americans:
- $1.25 billion to provide emergency nutritional assistance for senior citizens, women, children, and low-income families, including:
- $500 million for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
- $250 million for senior nutrition programs, including home-delivered nutrition programs like Meals on Wheels
- $400 million for the Emergency Food Assistance Program
- Provides funding and flexibility to ensures low-income students continue to have access to meals if schools are closed
- Provides the Agriculture Secretary with the authority to waive administrative requirements that might prevent children and parents from accessing nutrition programs
- Bolsters unemployment insurance:
- Provides $1 billion in 2020 for emergency grants to states for activities related to processing and paying unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, under certain conditions
- $500 million would be used to provide immediate additional funding to all states for staffing, technology, systems, and other administrative costs, so long as they met basic requirements about ensuring access to earned benefits for eligible workers
- Full Federal Funding of Extended Unemployment Compensation for a Limited Period. For states that experience an increase of 10 percent or more in their unemployment rate (over the previous year)
Previously, Congress voted and the President signed into law supplemental funding that will provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and our state and local response efforts the additional tools and supplies they need in order to safely respond to and better prepare for the spread of the coronavirus. It adds needed funding for Medicare telehealth services, makes more diagnostic tests available in order to test for the virus, supports more treatments, invests in vaccine development, and ensures we are better prepared for any future health threat.
This package includes:
- More than $4 billion to make diagnostic tests more broadly available, to support treatments to ease the symptoms of those infected with the virus, and to invest in vaccine development and to procure vaccines when they are available. Funds are also made available for the FDA to protect the integrity of medical products manufactured overseas and identify and prevent potential shortages.
- $2.2 billion to the CDC for a robust response, including:
- Nearly $1 billion exclusively for state and local response efforts.
- $300 million for CDC’s Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund to prevent, prepare for, and respond to diseases – keeping our nation prepared and positioned for any health threat.
- $20 million to administer disaster assistance loans for small businesses impacted by the virus.
- $1.25 billion for the State Department and USAID to protect Americans abroad and prevent the spread of the virus worldwide, including:
- $264 million to evacuate Americans and maintain consular operations overseas.
- $200 million for USAID’s Emergency Response Fund to prepare for and respond to emerging health threats – working to prevent the spread of illness and infection.
- The package also includes a bipartisan provision that would allow the home to be an originating site for purposes of telehealth during this public health emergency, allowing more patients to get the care they need at home to avoid potentially overcrowded health care facilities, especially in rural areas.
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