Not rendering correctly? View this email as a web page here.

Did you know that Right on Healthcare has a newsletter?

Click here to subscribe!

Grounds for Relief

What to Know: Coffee shop owners in Kentucky can’t reopen—because when COVID-19 benefits are factored in, their workers make more sitting at home than serving coffee. There are similar stories from around the country, and now the Wall Street Journal has weighed in on the hefty unemployment benefit boost.

The TPPF Take: We can’t let the cure be worse than the disease.

“Government intervention in the free market always causes distortions and unintended consequences,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “Americans should chafe at such intrusions. We know the coronavirus will do great harm to the country; we must work to ensure that our responses don’t unnecessarily compound that harm."

Transparency is Only Fair

What to Know: American hospitals have received $100 billion in bailout funds from the federal government, but they’re still trying to keep their prices secret.

The TPPF Take: Americans deserve to know the prices they’re expected to pay for medical services

“The Trump administration put out an executive order regarding transparency in 2019 that has been the subject of litigation since its release by the American Hospital Association and its coalition,” says TPPF’s David Balat. “But accountability is needed in the form of price transparency and full access by patients to their medical records. This could be done in the next installment of the stimulus package currently being discussed.”

Up, Up, and Away!

What to Know: Like Texans elsewhere, Nueces County homeowners are in shock over soaring appraisal values. One property owner said of the appraisal district: “Their logic is not sound. I don’t see any growth around my particular area here. There’s no way to justify the increase that they’re coming up with.”

The TPPF Take: Soaring appraisals have long been issue in Texas, but the problem is all the more urgent today given the soaring unemployment and the state of the economy. Meaningful reforms are needed now.

“People struggling with job loss, business closure, and financial hardship now have something else to worry about: An out-of-control property tax system. Fretting about the burden of government is the last thing that Texans should be concerned with right now,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “Serious reforms are needed next session to fix a broken system. Texans are counting on it.”