Rep. Kennedy Urges Three Key Reforms for Families, as Country Enters Pivotal Month in COVID-19 Response

NEWTON, Massachusetts, March 31 -- Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release:

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- With health care impact of COVID-19 set to peak in April, Kennedy urges Congress to expand Medicaid, increase cash assistance & defer all debt payments

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As the country enters a pivotal month in the COVID-19 crisis, Congressman Joe Kennedy III today called on Congressional leadership to act immediately to provide families with additional economic security as we battle an acute, national health care crisis. In a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, Kennedy urged Congress to:

1. Immediately enroll all uninsured people in Medicaid, to ensure every person can access testing and treatment and to provide hospitals across MA and the country with additional funding.

2. Increase the amount of federal direct cash assistance payments for American families, and

3. Enact a moratorium on household and business debt, including rental payments.

"A true stimulus package must directly, intentionally focus on the people who are most vulnerable to the health and economic consequences of COVID-19. That means guaranteeing that not a single patient living in this nation is denied treatment because they lack health insurance and ensuring that health care facilities don't crumble under the weight of uncompensated care. It means providing workers with robust, continuous cash assistance to help them weather the economic aftershocks that will inevitably follow in the months and years to come. And it means bringing an immediate end to the threat of spiraling debt for families and small businesses.

"Although the three emergency funding bills passed by Congress so far were each critical pieces of our response, none matched the urgency of this moment for the people who will be hit hardest in the coming days. Rent payments and mortgages will come due on April 1st. Patients will defer care due to cost. And unemployed workers will be forced into impossible economic choices that will not be solved by a one-time $1,200 check. Congress is not done. We need more action -- and we need it now."

The full text of Congressman Kennedy's letter is below:

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader McConnell,

Thank you for your commitment to addressing the dual health care and economic crises threatening our country amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, after three emergency response packages, millions of Americans are at risk of contracting COVID-19 and remain on the brink of financial ruin. While the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act includes important provisions, I believe it falls well short in several critical areas. As this crisis unfolds across the country, Congress cannot wait until April 20 when both the House and Senate are currently scheduled to return to deliver additional relief.

I urge you to move quickly to address, at a minimum, three critical areas, in order to guarantee baseline economic security to American families as we enter a critical phase in our health care response to this global pandemic: (1) immediate health care coverage for all uninsured people; (2) increased, continuous cash assistance for all Americans; and (3) a moratorium on debt payments, including rent payments.

Not a single American should be deterred from seeking medical care because of the cost of testing and treatment. Any impediments to getting sick people seen and treated will wreak havoc on our efforts to get ahead of this deadly and rapidly spreading virus. Congress should act to automatically enroll every single uninsured American, regardless of immigration status, into Medicaid through the end of the year. Additionally, we should create a pathway for the underinsured or those with existing Trump Administration junk plans to transition to these public plans immediately. Paired with additional federal funds to ensure the cost of new enrollees does not fall on states, as well as an across-the-board increase in Medicare's Wage Index and a drastic increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, this auto-enrollment will not only increase access to testing and treatment, but will deliver essential dollars to hospitals stretched to the brink.

Second, the cash assistance included in the CARES Act for Americans already struggling to make ends meet is wholly insufficient. With a record number of unemployment claims, 3.3 million this week alone, Congress must provide direct, immediate, universal cash assistance to keep the economy from entering a recession let alone depression and to ensure working families can survive. Specifically, I have called for $4,000 for individuals earning less than $100,000 annually, $2,000 for those earning more than $100,000 annually, and $2,000 and $1,000 for each of their children respectively. It is essential that these payments continue for low- and middle- income workers until the economic aftershocks end.

Finally, in a matter of days, millions of Americans will be forced into impossible decisions of which bills to pay, which penalties to incur, and what financial pain they can bear. From mortgage payments to credit card debt, health care debt, student loans, small business loans, and car payments, debt payments are hanging over already desperate Americans like a guillotine. Congress must act to deliver a temporary moratorium on these debt payments that allows borrowers to defer with no penalty or interest accrued. This includes addressing rental payments. We must consider forbearance, forgiveness, or cancelation of debt where applicable, including regulatory involvement and a federal government guarantee.

The severity of this health care crisis is going to require dramatic steps in the weeks ahead: lockdowns, travel restrictions, continued quarantines, and other policies that are essential to our physical survival but painful to our economic livelihood. Government must act immediately to backstop families as we make the tough choices necessary to weather this storm.

We do not have a choice between the health of our people and the health of our economy. We will only succeed if we choose both.

Thank you for your consideration of these requests.

Sincerely,

Joseph P. Kennedy, III

Member of Congress