Economic Recovery Must Include Older Adults
Americans over age 70 control more than a quarter of the nation’s household wealth, yet they also suffer the highest rates of death and serious illness from coronavirus. In an op-ed for The Hill, the Commonwealth Fund’s David Blumenthal, M.D., says the U.S. economy will not recover from COVID-19 until the most vulnerable among us — the elderly — feel safe. He urges policymakers to implement mandatory mask-wearing, social distancing, and widespread testing and contact-tracing because “parents and grandparents are still locked in place.”
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Repealing the ACA Would Be a Catastrophic Blow
The United States is reeling from more than 130,000 COVID-19 deaths. Yet there is a chance that an upcoming Supreme Court decision will lead to the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act. On To the Point, the Commonwealth Fund’s Sara Collins and Elizabeth Fowler write that if the push to strike down the ACA succeeds, it could double the number of people without health insurance, leaving 60 million uninsured and unable to afford COVID-19-related testing and treatment.
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When Is It Safe for States to Reopen?
When states like Georgia and Florida eased restrictions, scientists thought they would pay dearly for reopening so early. But their COVID-19 case and death counts did not increase right away. Were the epidemiologists wrong? This and other questions are answered with wit and bad sports analogies in Corona Question Corner. Submit your questions to [email protected].
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Other Recent Publications | |
Toward Equity in American Health Care
The Commonwealth Fund’s Board of Directors has approved a new Health Equity Fund that will expend up to $15 million over three years to advance equity in U.S. health care and combat racism throughout our health system. The Commonwealth Fund is committed to an antiracist agenda and to working with those who have dedicated years and decades confronting these problems to help develop solutions. In the coming weeks, we will be assembling an advisory group of experts to help us identify specific areas of focus. We expect that this group will continue to provide counsel as we consider grant proposals and assess progress toward the goal of an equitable health care system for all Americans.
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Remaking Primary Care for Women
The primary care system in the U.S. often fails to meet the full range of women’s health care needs throughout all stages of life. In a two-part series, experts from the Commonwealth Fund and Manatt Health present a vision for achieving the kind of primary care that women in America want and need. In the first report, the authors present a framework for achieving a comprehensive primary care system for women. In the
second report, they recommend steps that all stakeholders can take to achieve this vision.
In a webinar on Thursday, July 16, thought leaders and industry experts discussed key findings from the reports and how policymakers, entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and investors can accelerate the changes necessary to achieve a more responsive primary health care system for women within the next 10 years.
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How Drug Companies Use Patents to Extend Monopolies
By 2024, the cancer drug Imbruvica is poised to become the fourth-highest-grossing prescription medication in the U.S., with annual revenues approaching $9 billion. New analysis from researchers at I-MAK reveals how drugmaker AbbVie’s “drip feed” patent strategy has extended the company’s monopoly on Imbruvica to at least 29 years, ensuring high prices for the drug.
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