COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic and the slowdown in economic activity have impacted the well-being of many U.S. families. Unemployment peaked at 14.7 percent in April, and remained above 8 percent in August. The CARES Act and the Family First Coronavirus Response Act used several short-term policy strategies to address this challenge.

Beginning in mid-March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on health care utilization. The impact on patients, their families and the health care system was significant.

This report responds to a requirement in Executive Order 13877, "Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First." It describes the phenomenon of a "surprise billing," particularly in the commercial insurance market, the underlying federal and state regulatory frameworks, and recent state actions to address the problem.

This ASPE issue brief examines changes in Medicare fee-for-service primary care visits and use of telehealth at the start of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). This brief seeks to address the issue of how and whether the Medicare telehealth flexibilities introduced to address the COVID-19 pandemic may have helped maintain access to primary health care during the PHE.

This brief uses a proprietary dataset of electronic health records to describe the prevalence rates of chronic health conditions associated with a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 among people with a history of homelessness. The paper found that for many of the health conditions examined, people with a history of homelessness have greater prevalence than the general population.

Economic Impact Payments under the CARES Act can increase economic independence and labor force attachment among individuals reentering from incarceration through helping cover basic expenses while individuals seek employment and get on their feet.