COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected life around the globe. With it came a global overwhelming public health burden. Following the safety measures that were implemented such as movement restrictions, social distancing, and lockdown of countries, which affected different sectors of the economy, the universal economic curve was set on a downward trajectory. Bankruptcies, closure of businesses, and job losses attributable to the pandemic have further generated a great economic strain for many people around the world. Slowly but surely, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the American economy and politics as well. With increased death rates and a stalled economy, the American Congress embraced measures, which at a point in time would not be deemed necessary though are practical (Cassidy par. 2). For instance, though reluctant at first, President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act that gives him the authority to order mass production of an item if considered paramount for national security. This was after health specialists cautioned that America would face a shortage of medical supplies such as masks and ventilators to combat coronavirus disease outbreak. In response to this, the manufacturing sector was facilitated to hasten the production of required items.
Annually, Americans are estimated to spend billions on prescribed drugs only. Health specialists report that the amount of money spent on prescription drugs may not be surprising as compared to the rate at which manufacturers continually introduce new medications while hiking market prices on the already existing ones (Stolberg and Weiland par. 3). COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased use of prescribed medicines. During the month of March, nearly 100 million Americans with a high Coronavirus infection risk approached pharmacists for refills and new prescriptions that would last for not less than three months. Both houses in the US Congress have shown great interest in the issue of drug costs for the benefit of the US residents since this is one way of appealing to voters (Weiland par. 2). Having recently passed the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act that aimed at improving access to health care for all by enabling Medicare to negotiate drug costs and establishing an affordable charge for Americans, the US Congress is yet to decide on Grassley’s bipartisanship.
Republicans continue to fret over the political repercussions their party would have to deal with concerning health and economic related issues. Mr. Grassley, a Republican, set a bill in motion that seeks to curb the increased cost of drugs while retaining the popular aspects of the Obama Care Act. The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) commonly known as Obama Care was supposed to provide affordable insurance coverage for all Americans hence protecting them from private companies with expensive health covers that restrict access to medical care (Alonso-Zaldivar et al. par. 13). However, following the Coronavirus pandemic, sustaining ACA is nearly impossible as the demand for health care is higher than the available coverage. Thousands of Americans have tested positive for the Coronavirus disease and all depend on the Act to access medical services.
Attributable to the economic strain brought about by the pandemic, state officials, in support of President Donald Trump, approached the Supreme Court suggesting that ACA be overturned. If this should happen, over 20 million Americans risk losing their medical covers. This would mean that every individual would have to cater for their medical expenses. Putting into consideration that approximately 27 million people who were fired from their jobs lost their work-related health covers, the number of beneficiaries of the Obama Care Act is set to rise and with it an increased burden on the American economy. This is evident as a government report revealed that the Obama Care program has registered approximately 487,000 eligible new applicants who were laid off together with thousands of other workers attributable to the effects of the pandemic (Alonso-Zaldivar et al. par. 3). Consequently, the move to overturn the ACA caused disagreements among President Trump’s administration and the Republicans.
Grassley believes that through bipartisanship, members of the United States Congress with different opinions on the repealing of the Obama Care Act will collaborate to make reasonable changes to the law. The Grassley bill is invested in protecting the well-liked aspects of ACA such as children remaining on their caregivers’ health covers longer and doing away with the unpopular features like the individual mandate (Weiland par. 13). Such proposals are meant to support the services sector, particularly health, which is at risk of being overwhelmed by the effects of COVID-19. While the bill works in favor of the American people, private pharmaceutical companies have greatly rejected its implementation.
The effects of the Coronavirus pandemic continue to weigh heavily on the global economy. Increased death rates and new infections over time continually add to the public health problem by negatively affecting the manufacturing and services sectors. Measures such as movement restrictions to manage the pandemic while attempting to find an amicable solution have crippled the American economy. Effects such as loss of jobs, going bankrupt, and closure of businesses have further placed a burden on the economy forcing the US Congress to engage the law in the COVID-19 battle.
Works Cited
Alonso-Zaldivar, Ricardo, et al. “As COVID Cases Rise, White House Seeks to Scrap ‘Obamacare’.” 2020, Web.
Cassidy, John. “The Coronavirus is Transforming Politics and Economics.” The New Yorker, 2020, Web.
Stolberg, Sheryl, and Noah Weiland. “House Votes to Limit Health Costs as Drug Maker Adds Price Tag to Virus Treatment.” The New York Times, Web.
Weiland, Noah. “As the Coronavirus Spreads, Drug Pricing Legislation Remains Stalled.” The New York Times, 2020, Web.