Centering on Coronavirus

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, many state and local governments are in dire straits. With sales, restaurant, and hotel tax revenues collapsing, some localities have had to cut essential services and furlough frontline workers. At the same time, demand for unemployment benefits and Medicaid—which are partially funded by the states—has skyrocketed. To discuss the shortfalls state and local governments are facing and learn about potential solutions, policy analyst Julia Baumel spoke with Tracy Gordon, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center who specializes in state and local budgets.

Although there is so much we still do not know about COVID-19, public health officials and doctors were sharing the same urgent message from the beginning of the outbreak in early 2020. The older you are, the more likely you are to die if you contract the disease. And yet, somehow, America allowed its nursing homes to become the epicenter of the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the world. So far, over 40% of those who have died in the U.S. from COVID-19 have been residents or workers in nursing homes or long-term care facilities. On this episode of Centering on Coronavirus, Policy Analyst Aleksandra Srdanovic interviews Gregg Girvan, a Health Care Policy Expert at the FREOPP, on how the high death toll amongst nursing home residents has profound implications for the way we’ve managed the coronavirus pandemic. For more insights on the impact of COVID-19 on nursing homes, you can read The New Center's issue brief "COVID-19 in Nursing Homes: How Could We Let This Happen?" at newcenter.org

Traditionally a supplementary and underutilized form of health care delivery, telehealth is now one of the frontline pillars of defense against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the potential applications of telehealth extend far beyond the current moment. The New Center policy analyst Olive Morris checks in with Mei Kwong with the Center for Connected Health Policy to explore the potential of telehealth during and after this crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made Americans even more reliant on stable high-speed internet connectivity to work from home, participate in online classes, or entertain themselves as they quarantine. Since January 2020, broadband consumption during the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. has risen by more than 50%. For the most part, the internet has held up to the recent influx of traffic. However, millions of families still lack reliable or affordable broadband access, which is making them even more economically and socially vulnerable than they were before this crisis. In this paper, The New Center explores America’s suddenly urgent digital divide problem and how to bridge the gap.

Dr. Ashish Jha is the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, a practicing physician, and the incoming Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Dr. Jha took time out of his busy schedule to talk with New Center policy analyst Julia Baumel about all things COVID-19 testing. Our conversation takes a look at the current state of testing in America, the factors that led it to fall behind the testing curve, and what our government needs to do to get back ahead of it. The full interview transcript is available on our website here: https://newcenter.org/centering-on-coronavirus-podcast-dr-ashish-jha-on-covid-19-testing/