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Why Washington State Is Desperate For Trump To Declare A COVID-19 Emergency
The state would like to apply for a Medicaid waiver that would let Washington give people more options for where to receive care, so that it can lessen the pressure on its already overtaxed health system.
The problem for the state is that one of the types of waivers currently under discussion — a waiver known as 1135 — can be triggered only by the President declaring an emergency or a disaster under the Stafford Act, something he has notably failed to do, despite all signs indicating that the coronavirus outbreak stands to be a major public health crisis.
Sue Birch, director of the Washington State Health Care Authority, told TPM that the state was discussing a 1135 and 1115 waiver with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. While the agency had been receptive, Birch said, the 1135 waiver comes with a built-in limitation: it cannot go through absent an emergency declaration from President Trump.
...
Birch described the waivers as needed to increase capacity, ranging from adding doctors and other health care workers to streamlining procedures to increasing those eligible for treatment.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/exclusive-why-washington-state-is-desperate-for-trump-to-declare-a-covid-19-emergency
The problem for the state is that one of the types of waivers currently under discussion — a waiver known as 1135 — can be triggered only by the President declaring an emergency or a disaster under the Stafford Act, something he has notably failed to do, despite all signs indicating that the coronavirus outbreak stands to be a major public health crisis.
Sue Birch, director of the Washington State Health Care Authority, told TPM that the state was discussing a 1135 and 1115 waiver with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. While the agency had been receptive, Birch said, the 1135 waiver comes with a built-in limitation: it cannot go through absent an emergency declaration from President Trump.
...
Birch described the waivers as needed to increase capacity, ranging from adding doctors and other health care workers to streamlining procedures to increasing those eligible for treatment.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/exclusive-why-washington-state-is-desperate-for-trump-to-declare-a-covid-19-emergency
But Trump won't do that, because his feelings about his base's perception of him are more important to him than people's lives.