thenation--2020-10-21--The Pandemic Sent Americans’ Health Care Coverage Into Free Fall

Before the pandemic hit , John made a decent living mowing people ’ s yards and doing landscaping in Houston .
He had a place to live with his 15-year-old son .
He even had health insurance that he bought for himself and his son “ in case anything happens , ” he said.1 Then Covid-19 swept across the country .
Nobody wanted “ somebody they don ’ t really know on their property , in their house , ” said John , who wanted to use only his first name .
His work dried up .
He had to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deceased wife ’ s cousin in Dallas .
He ended up evicted and homeless ; he slept for a few weeks on a bench near his house and then for a week under a bridge .
And he had to let his insurance coverage lapse because he could no longer pay for it.2 John is now sleeping on the floor in a family friend ’ s house .
He ’ s found work selling pipes and rebar , but it doesn ’ t pay much , just $ 50 a day .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activated , and it ’ s the one way he can communicate with his son .
“ Sometimes I just got to pay my bill and not eat , ” he said.3 He can ’ t afford health insurance on his current income , but he needs medical attention .
When he recently saw a doctor , he had sky-high blood pressure , which he attributes to all the stress he ’ s been through .
“ One doctor told me I should be dead , ” he said .
Without insurance , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get the medication he was prescribed ; instead he ’ s been taking old blood pressure meds , but he ’ s running out .
He doesn ’ t know what he ’ ll do when they ’ re gone.4 He also got heatstroke twice in one week and had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance .
That visit nearly set him back $ 17,000—about $ 2,000 for the ambulance ride and $ 15,000 for the hospital stay—until he got a mailing from the hospital saying that because he doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been waived .
After those experiences , he ’ s worried about what it would mean to get Covid while uninsured .
But he tries not to think about it .
“ If I worry about it , I ’ m going to be stressing myself out , ” he said.5 John is one of 659,000 Texans who lost their health insurance in the first three months of the pandemic , adding to an uninsured rate that was the highest in the country before Covid-19 .
“ It was already pretty dismal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vice president for research and evaluation at the Episcopal Health Foundation in Texas .
As the economy slowed , millions of people have lost work , income , and with that , their health insurance .
The state ’ s uninsured rate has climbed from 17.7 percent in 2018 to 29 percent today .
Texas is one of only 12 states still refusing to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act .
That means only pregnant Texans , low-income people with disabilities , or parents making 17 percent of the federal poverty line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less than $ 3,700 a year , qualify for the public health program .
Childless adults without disabilities can ’ t enroll at all and have few other options.6 Before the pandemic , over half of uninsured Texans had no place they regularly went to for preventative medical care , compared with just one-quarter of the insured .
Now the uninsured face forgoing care during a public health crisis .
“ Having health coverage is even more important than ever , ” Sim said .
“ People are delaying seeking care… .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s Covid or not , it will be a major hit.
” 7 This is the first recession the country has faced with the ACA in place .
And in the states that have established private health insurance exchanges and expanded Medicaid coverage , the crisis of losing a job has not necessarily precipitated the crisis of losing health insurance .
But in the states that did not expand Medicaid , there is a gaping hole in the patchwork of health coverage , and as people face widespread job loss , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it.8 Between February and May , 5.4 million people who lost their job in the United States also lost their health insurance coverage—the highest increase ever recorded .
Losses have been heavy in many nonexpansion states like Texas , the Carolinas , Georgia , and Florida .
Elsewhere , Medicaid is cushioning the blow .
In states where data is available , Medicaid enrollment grew 8.4 percent between February and July , and the increase was even greater in expansion states , where it was up 12.7 percent .
“ Absent that additional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would instead be uninsured , ” said Matt Broaddus , a senior research analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities .
In Medicaid expansion states , on average , less than a quarter of unemployed workers became uninsured .
By contrast , in states that haven ’ t expanded Medicaid , on average more than 40 percent of workers who lost a job also lost insurance .
Jesse Cross-Call , another senior policy analyst at the CBPP , said , “ Folks who are unemployed are much more tethered to health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states.
” If all those states expanded Medicaid , nearly 4.3 million more adults would stand to get covered by next year.9 “ There ’ s always been pretty striking disparities…between expansion and nonexpansion states , ” Cross-Call said .
“ Those trends are just really being put in even starker contrast now.
” 10 For those who can afford it , coverage obtained on the ACA private insurance marketplaces is stepping in to catch them .
Enrollment in the plans available on the marketplace has surged in many states that created special @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those plans are often too costly for lower-income people .
An individual won ’ t be eligible for the subsidies that can make marketplace insurance affordable if that person ’ s income falls below the poverty line .
Even the jobless people who were kept financially afloat by enhanced unemployment insurance benefits could fall into this category , as benefits are not counted for income eligibility purposes.11 Many former employees can extend their health coverage , typically for up to 18 months , through COBRA .
But it ’ s very expensive .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 7,000 on the insurance in 2019 , or nearly $ 21,000 for a family.12 That leaves Medicaid as the last option .
But it ’ s open to only a very narrow slice of the population in states that haven ’ t expanded eligibility under the ACA .
Parents above a certain income level—from as high as $ 20,417 a year in Tennessee to as low as $ 3,693 in Texas—aren ’ t eligible .
Childless people without disabilities are shut out .
People who can ’ t enroll “ are likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fishman , a senior director of health policy at Families USA.13 That ’ s problematic at any time .
Medicaid expansion has been found to save tens of thousands of lives .
“ People who are uninsured typically face a lot of cost barriers in getting access to care , ” said Robin Rudowitz , a vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation , “ and also tend to delay or postpone needed care because they know that out-of-pocket costs will be high.
” But this difficulty in visiting a doctor could be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ If they have symptoms or even if they want to get tested without symptoms , they are going to be reluctant to get that taken care of because they can ’ t afford it , ” said Fishman .
While the testing is free in some places , in others it can cost up to $ 2,000 .
The federal government has allocated funding to reimburse providers that conduct tests and hospitals that care for Covid patients who don ’ t have insurance , but that doesn ’ t mean patients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ funding will cover all hospital fees for patients .
Some who need extensive Covid treatment may wind up with serious debt .
“ It is always a financial risk for a person without health insurance to have a significant amount of health care utilization , ” Fishman said.14 Without insurance , people with chronic conditions like high blood pressure , asthma , and diabetes may have struggled to afford medication to keep those under control before the pandemic .
If they get Covid , they are at greater risk of more serious complications.15 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 and the possible need for ongoing care .
Uninsured people may not be able to fill prescriptions for things like inhalers to help them cope with continuing symptoms.16 Expanding Medicaid has been found to reduce medical bills and debt .
Those without insurance in the midst of a recession and pandemic may run into a big financial toll.17 “ You can imagine somebody who contracts the virus and starts to show symptoms but doesn ’ t want to see a doctor because they ’ re worried about the cost , ” Cross-Call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the condition gets better on its own , but when it doesn ’ t , their health is even more compromised.
” 18 There is early evidence that people are simply avoiding care .
In Houston , where nearly a fifth of residents lacked health insurance before the pandemic and where many more now face that prospect , there has been a huge spike in the number of people dying at home without going to the hospital or calling 911 .
Public health advocates worry this means that people with Covid who lack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ late to seek help , out of fear of incurring the costs.19 Worse , the people most at risk of falling into the coverage gap between Medicaid and the marketplace are some of those whose health is most at risk right now .
About 30 percent of low-income essential workers were uninsured in states that hadn ’ t expanded Medicaid in 2018 , versus 17 percent in expansion states .
An estimated 650,000 essential or frontline workers would gain coverage if the remaining states expanded Medicaid .
It has also been an important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are at high risk of catching Covid or developing serious complications , such as those with low incomes , heart disease , asthma , or diabetes .
In Texas , 61 percent of the uninsured are Hispanic , and an additional 10 percent are Black.20 “ In nonexpansion states it ’ s a very unfortunate and infuriating situation , ” Fishman said .
“ It ’ s just madness for us as a country…that people are afraid to use basic health care services in the middle of a historic health crisis because we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t cover everybody as a matter of basic public service.
” 21 The bright side is that the number of states that have dug in against expansion is slowly dwindling and that the pandemic and ensuing recession are increasing public support for Medicaid expansion.22 For the past few years , Carly Putnam , the policy director at the Oklahoma Policy Institute , has kept on the bulletin board above her desk a cartoon of someone pushing a boulder up a hill .
That ’ s how it ’ s felt trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Then she watched as organizers put the issue on the ballot in four states—Maine , Idaho , Utah , and Nebraska—and won in every one .
“ If Nebraskans could do it , so could we , ” she thought.23 She was right .
On June 30 state voters narrowly passed a measure to expand Medicaid , the first state to do so since the pandemic began .
“ Oklahomans finally got the chance to make the choice that their legislature had abdicated , ” she said .
“ It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stepping up to take care of its own.
” She doesn ’ t know exactly how the pandemic affected the vote , but she said that people who voted using absentee ballots—who were perhaps more concerned about the coronavirus and their health—overwhelmingly favored it , three to one.24 “ Passing Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma , which is one of the reddest states in the country , is a pretty strong signal that there is still a public appetite for expanding health coverage , ” Cross-Call said.25 Just a month later , voters in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ launched the campaign to expand Medicaid in the state on the day of the Supreme Court ’ s 2012 decision upholding the constitutionality of the ACA but striking down the mandate to expand Medicaid .
On a day when the temperature was over 100 degrees , Jen Bersdale , the executive director of Missouri Health Care for All , assembled a group to react , no matter the outcome of that case .
“ We got to celebrate the fact that the ACA had been upheld , but we had a new fight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
After waging an unsuccessful legislative campaign to expand Medicaid over a number of years , advocates there , too , took inspiration from other states and decided to put the issue on the ballot .
“ It is a stain on the reputation of all of the elected officials that have not only failed to listen to their constituents but also failed to do what they needed them to do so they could get the care that they need , ” she said.26 The coverage gap in Missouri should be called a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has become nearly unattainable for residents without subsidies .
“ A full-price plan [ costs ] more than their annual income , ” she said .
Now far more are falling into the void .
“ We have so many people now who had really secure jobs…with good health insurance and master ’ s degrees and 20-year careers who are suddenly out of work , ” she said.27 Now her fight is over .
Support for Amendment 2 , expanding Medicaid coverage , was even stronger in Missouri than in Oklahoma .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote .
Bersdale saw the result coming .
She had 600 face masks made with “ Yes on 2 ” printed on them ; they sold out so fast , she had to order 300 more.28 She hopes the Missouri group ’ s success can have a ripple effect in other states that haven ’ t expanded Medicaid .
“ I would love for it to provide some hope to people in states who are still fighting , ” she said.29 It ’ s not clear yet what impact the pandemic will have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a May poll , the Kaiser Family Foundation found that two-thirds of adults living in nonexpansion states wanted their state to expand Medicaid .
The share rises sharply among those who have experienced job or income loss because of Covid—nearly three-quarters support expansion .
“ I do think it will make a difference .
How can it not ?
” Fishman said .
“ Millions of people losing job-based health insurance , knowing that in other states they could have coverage.
” 30 “ It would be very surprising if the pandemic didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreed Philip Rocco , an assistant professor of political science at Marquette University in Milwaukee .
Congress left a space for states to fill , he said , by not taking action to extend health coverage during the pandemic .
There are “ a lot of people whose needs are not being addressed by , really , another government entity .
It might create a little bit of added pressure.
” Oklahoma may have been a squeaker—the measure passed with just 50.5 percent of the vote—but the vote occurred earlier in the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hadn ’ t swelled as much as they have .
Missouri showed momentum may be building.31 There is also evidence that the expansion itself and the resulting coverage can spur people to become more active in politics ; without that effect , those who could benefit may not yet be political participants .
Before Covid , there was substantial support among Texas residents for expansion .
But , Sim noted , “ it ’ s one thing to express a view ; it ’ s another who [ people ] vote for.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the House Has Passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act America Is Headed for an Unprecedented Wave of Evictions There are only a handful of states left where bringing expansion to voters directly via the ballot is an option , and even there , it ’ s an uphill battle .
Florida ’ s rules for ballot initiatives , for example , are onerous , and it ’ s an expensive state in which to run a campaign .
In other states , expansion can happen only with legislative action .
“ The question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individual voter level around the issue in a way that is going to scare state legislators , ” Fishman said .
Time will tell , and it may take more time now that the pandemic has wreaked havoc on state legislative calendars .
Kansas , for example , was on the verge of expansion when it suspended its legislative session in mid-March and then held just a one-day session in May that didn ’ t deal with the issue.33 The pandemic could push things either way .
On the one hand , voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it means to have millions of people fall through such a giant tear in the safety net .
On the other , opponents of expansion often argue that states can ’ t afford it , even though the federal government pays nearly all of the costs and states are likely to face other costs from having such a large uninsured population .
The fiscal argument may hold emotional sway now that state budgets are under serious strain , thanks to lower tax revenues and a higher demand for assistance.34 What is clear is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they could get residents insured fairly quickly .
Some states have rolled out expansion in a matter of months or even weeks .
They can also make coverage retroactive , helping people cover bills they already incurred to get Covid testing and treatment.35 “ These are really extraordinary times , ” Cross-Call said .
“ The need to connect people with health coverage is critically important right now.
” 36 Of course , getting enrolled in health insurance may not be top of mind when someone loses employment during a pandemic of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for unemployment benefits was likely the first priority , a process that in many states was incredibly complicated and drawn out .
So while the number of people enrolling in health coverage under the ACA has gone up , “ that uptick is not commensurate with the number of people who have lost employer coverage , ” Fishman said .
“ There are still significant numbers of people falling through the cracks.
” He said that if Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins the presidency , “ there starts to be a conversation about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coverage available and trying to make it very easy for people to sign up…can only get you so far.
” 37 There are other ways that a Biden presidency could narrow the Medicaid coverage gap .
While he hasn ’ t backed Medicare for All , the plan championed by Senator Bernie Sanders that would put everyone on public health insurance , Biden has proposed creating a Medicare-like public option available for purchase in expansion and nonexpansion states alike , with premium costs subsidized through tax credits and capped at a percentage of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subsidies were available to make marketplace coverage more affordable for those who qualify.38 John is still trying to put all the pieces of his life back together .
He recently called a construction company he used to work for that offers health insurance and pays $ 18 to $ 20 an hour .
It said it would gladly take him back , but he needs his own transportation to get to jobs .
His license was suspended a while ago over a ticket he got for lack of insurance , and now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a month-and-a-half wait just to get an appointment to get a new license .
While he waits , he ’ s clinging to the hope that his current job will pay him more , maybe for selling concrete instead of pipes.39 “ I just wish this corona stuff was over with , ” he said .
“ I ’ m ready to get back to a real job making real money so I can get back into my own house and get back with my son.
” 40

This article appears in the November 2/9, 2020 issue.
Before the pandemic hit, John made a decent living mowing people’s yards and doing landscaping in Houston. He had a place to live with his 15-year-old son. He even had health insurance that he bought for himself and his son “in case anything happens,” he said.1
Then Covid-19 swept across the country. Nobody wanted “somebody they don’t really know on their property, in their house,” said John, who wanted to use only his first name. His work dried up. He had to send his son to live with his deceased wife’s cousin in Dallas. He ended up evicted and homeless; he slept for a few weeks on a bench near his house and then for a week under a bridge. And he had to let his insurance coverage lapse because he could no longer pay for it.2
John is now sleeping on the floor in a family friend’s house. He’s found work selling pipes and rebar, but it doesn’t pay much, just $50 a day. He can hardly afford to keep his phone activated, and it’s the one way he can communicate with his son. “Sometimes I just got to pay my bill and not eat,” he said.3
He can’t afford health insurance on his current income, but he needs medical attention. When he recently saw a doctor, he had sky-high blood pressure, which he attributes to all the stress he’s been through. “One doctor told me I should be dead,” he said. Without insurance, he hasn’t been able to get the medication he was prescribed; instead he’s been taking old blood pressure meds, but he’s running out. He doesn’t know what he’ll do when they’re gone.4
He also got heatstroke twice in one week and had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance. That visit nearly set him back $17,000—about $2,000 for the ambulance ride and $15,000 for the hospital stay—until he got a mailing from the hospital saying that because he doesn’t have insurance, the charges had been waived. After those experiences, he’s worried about what it would mean to get Covid while uninsured. But he tries not to think about it. “If I worry about it, I’m going to be stressing myself out,” he said.5 The Coronavirus Pandemic A Red Zone Grows in Brooklyn Ross Perlin Focused Protection, Herd Immunity, and Other Deadly Delusions Gregg Gonsalves How Libertarianism Made Arizona a Covid-19 Hot Spot Jessica Suriano
John is one of 659,000 Texans who lost their health insurance in the first three months of the pandemic, adding to an uninsured rate that was the highest in the country before Covid-19. “It was already pretty dismal,” said Shao-Chee Sim, the vice president for research and evaluation at the Episcopal Health Foundation in Texas. As the economy slowed, millions of people have lost work, income, and with that, their health insurance. The state’s uninsured rate has climbed from 17.7 percent in 2018 to 29 percent today. Texas is one of only 12 states still refusing to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. That means only pregnant Texans, low-income people with disabilities, or parents making 17 percent of the federal poverty line for a family of three, or less than $3,700 a year, qualify for the public health program. Childless adults without disabilities can’t enroll at all and have few other options.6 Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
Before the pandemic, over half of uninsured Texans had no place they regularly went to for preventative medical care, compared with just one-quarter of the insured. Now the uninsured face forgoing care during a public health crisis. “Having health coverage is even more important than ever,” Sim said. “People are delaying seeking care…. If they have a serious illness, whether it’s Covid or not, it will be a major hit.”7
This is the first recession the country has faced with the ACA in place. And in the states that have established private health insurance exchanges and expanded Medicaid coverage, the crisis of losing a job has not necessarily precipitated the crisis of losing health insurance. But in the states that did not expand Medicaid, there is a gaping hole in the patchwork of health coverage, and as people face widespread job loss, unprecedented numbers of them are tumbling into it.8
Between February and May, 5.4 million people who lost their job in the United States also lost their health insurance coverage—the highest increase ever recorded. Losses have been heavy in many nonexpansion states like Texas, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Elsewhere, Medicaid is cushioning the blow. In states where data is available, Medicaid enrollment grew 8.4 percent between February and July, and the increase was even greater in expansion states, where it was up 12.7 percent. “Absent that additional Medicaid coverage, many of those people would instead be uninsured,” said Matt Broaddus, a senior research analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In Medicaid expansion states, on average, less than a quarter of unemployed workers became uninsured. By contrast, in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid, on average more than 40 percent of workers who lost a job also lost insurance. Jesse Cross-Call, another senior policy analyst at the CBPP, said, “Folks who are unemployed are much more tethered to health coverage in expansion states than in nonexpansion states.” If all those states expanded Medicaid, nearly 4.3 million more adults would stand to get covered by next year.9
“There’s always been pretty striking disparities…between expansion and nonexpansion states,” Cross-Call said. “Those trends are just really being put in even starker contrast now.”10
For those who can afford it, coverage obtained on the ACA private insurance marketplaces is stepping in to catch them. Enrollment in the plans available on the marketplace has surged in many states that created special enrollment periods during the pandemic. But those plans are often too costly for lower-income people. An individual won’t be eligible for the subsidies that can make marketplace insurance affordable if that person’s income falls below the poverty line. Even the jobless people who were kept financially afloat by enhanced unemployment insurance benefits could fall into this category, as benefits are not counted for income eligibility purposes.11
Many former employees can extend their health coverage, typically for up to 18 months, through COBRA. But it’s very expensive. On average, people using COBRA spent $7,000 on the insurance in 2019, or nearly $21,000 for a family.12
That leaves Medicaid as the last option. But it’s open to only a very narrow slice of the population in states that haven’t expanded eligibility under the ACA. Parents above a certain income level—from as high as $20,417 a year in Tennessee to as low as $3,693 in Texas—aren’t eligible. Childless people without disabilities are shut out. People who can’t enroll “are likely to go uninsured,” said Eliot Fishman, a senior director of health policy at Families USA.13
That’s problematic at any time. Medicaid expansion has been found to save tens of thousands of lives. “People who are uninsured typically face a lot of cost barriers in getting access to care,” said Robin Rudowitz, a vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, “and also tend to delay or postpone needed care because they know that out-of-pocket costs will be high.” But this difficulty in visiting a doctor could be catastrophic for public health during a pandemic. “If they have symptoms or even if they want to get tested without symptoms, they are going to be reluctant to get that taken care of because they can’t afford it,” said Fishman. While the testing is free in some places, in others it can cost up to $2,000. The federal government has allocated funding to reimburse providers that conduct tests and hospitals that care for Covid patients who don’t have insurance, but that doesn’t mean patients won’t be billed or federal funding will cover all hospital fees for patients. Some who need extensive Covid treatment may wind up with serious debt. “It is always a financial risk for a person without health insurance to have a significant amount of health care utilization,” Fishman said.14
Without insurance, people with chronic conditions like high blood pressure, asthma, and diabetes may have struggled to afford medication to keep those under control before the pandemic. If they get Covid, they are at greater risk of more serious complications.15
Then there are the lingering effects of Covid-19 and the possible need for ongoing care. Uninsured people may not be able to fill prescriptions for things like inhalers to help them cope with continuing symptoms.16
Expanding Medicaid has been found to reduce medical bills and debt. Those without insurance in the midst of a recession and pandemic may run into a big financial toll.17
“You can imagine somebody who contracts the virus and starts to show symptoms but doesn’t want to see a doctor because they’re worried about the cost,” Cross-Call said. “They’re hoping the condition gets better on its own, but when it doesn’t, their health is even more compromised.”18
There is early evidence that people are simply avoiding care. In Houston, where nearly a fifth of residents lacked health insurance before the pandemic and where many more now face that prospect, there has been a huge spike in the number of people dying at home without going to the hospital or calling 911. Public health advocates worry this means that people with Covid who lack insurance are waiting until it is too late to seek help, out of fear of incurring the costs.19
Worse, the people most at risk of falling into the coverage gap between Medicaid and the marketplace are some of those whose health is most at risk right now. About 30 percent of low-income essential workers were uninsured in states that hadn’t expanded Medicaid in 2018, versus 17 percent in expansion states. An estimated 650,000 essential or frontline workers would gain coverage if the remaining states expanded Medicaid. It has also been an important source of coverage for other people who are at high risk of catching Covid or developing serious complications, such as those with low incomes, heart disease, asthma, or diabetes. In Texas, 61 percent of the uninsured are Hispanic, and an additional 10 percent are Black.20
“In nonexpansion states it’s a very unfortunate and infuriating situation,” Fishman said. “It’s just madness for us as a country…that people are afraid to use basic health care services in the middle of a historic health crisis because we’re the one advanced country that doesn’t cover everybody as a matter of basic public service.”21
The bright side is that the number of states that have dug in against expansion is slowly dwindling and that the pandemic and ensuing recession are increasing public support for Medicaid expansion.22
For the past few years, Carly Putnam, the policy director at the Oklahoma Policy Institute, has kept on the bulletin board above her desk a cartoon of someone pushing a boulder up a hill. That’s how it’s felt trying to get her state to expand Medicaid. Then she watched as organizers put the issue on the ballot in four states—Maine, Idaho, Utah, and Nebraska—and won in every one. “If Nebraskans could do it, so could we,” she thought.23
She was right. On June 30 state voters narrowly passed a measure to expand Medicaid, the first state to do so since the pandemic began. “Oklahomans finally got the chance to make the choice that their legislature had abdicated,” she said. “It’s really gratifying to see Oklahoma finally meaningfully stepping up to take care of its own.” She doesn’t know exactly how the pandemic affected the vote, but she said that people who voted using absentee ballots—who were perhaps more concerned about the coronavirus and their health—overwhelmingly favored it, three to one.24
“Passing Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma, which is one of the reddest states in the country, is a pretty strong signal that there is still a public appetite for expanding health coverage,” Cross-Call said.25
Just a month later, voters in Missouri secured the same victory. Advocates launched the campaign to expand Medicaid in the state on the day of the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision upholding the constitutionality of the ACA but striking down the mandate to expand Medicaid. On a day when the temperature was over 100 degrees, Jen Bersdale, the executive director of Missouri Health Care for All, assembled a group to react, no matter the outcome of that case. “We got to celebrate the fact that the ACA had been upheld, but we had a new fight on our hands,” she said. After waging an unsuccessful legislative campaign to expand Medicaid over a number of years, advocates there, too, took inspiration from other states and decided to put the issue on the ballot. “It is a stain on the reputation of all of the elected officials that have not only failed to listen to their constituents but also failed to do what they needed them to do so they could get the care that they need,” she said.26
The coverage gap in Missouri should be called a chasm, Bersdale argued. Marketplace insurance has become nearly unattainable for residents without subsidies. “A full-price plan [costs] more than their annual income,” she said. Now far more are falling into the void. “We have so many people now who had really secure jobs…with good health insurance and master’s degrees and 20-year careers who are suddenly out of work,” she said.27
Now her fight is over. Support for Amendment 2, expanding Medicaid coverage, was even stronger in Missouri than in Oklahoma. The amendment passed with 53 percent of the vote. Bersdale saw the result coming. She had 600 face masks made with “Yes on 2” printed on them; they sold out so fast, she had to order 300 more.28
She hopes the Missouri group’s success can have a ripple effect in other states that haven’t expanded Medicaid. “I would love for it to provide some hope to people in states who are still fighting,” she said.29
It’s not clear yet what impact the pandemic will have on the remaining nonexpansion states. In a May poll, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that two-thirds of adults living in nonexpansion states wanted their state to expand Medicaid. The share rises sharply among those who have experienced job or income loss because of Covid—nearly three-quarters support expansion. “I do think it will make a difference. How can it not?” Fishman said. “Millions of people losing job-based health insurance, knowing that in other states they could have coverage.”30
“It would be very surprising if the pandemic didn’t have an effect,” agreed Philip Rocco, an assistant professor of political science at Marquette University in Milwaukee. Congress left a space for states to fill, he said, by not taking action to extend health coverage during the pandemic. There are “a lot of people whose needs are not being addressed by, really, another government entity. It might create a little bit of added pressure.” Oklahoma may have been a squeaker—the measure passed with just 50.5 percent of the vote—but the vote occurred earlier in the pandemic, when the numbers of uninsured people hadn’t swelled as much as they have. Missouri showed momentum may be building.31
There is also evidence that the expansion itself and the resulting coverage can spur people to become more active in politics; without that effect, those who could benefit may not yet be political participants. Before Covid, there was substantial support among Texas residents for expansion. But, Sim noted, “it’s one thing to express a view; it’s another who [people] vote for.”32 More From Bryce Covert The New Law to Protect Pregnant Workers Is Already Changing Lives August 14, 2023 Finally, the Biden Administration Will Offer Some Relief for Childcare Costs July 11, 2023 One of #MeToo’s Biggest Wins Is About to Be Tested in Court June 13, 2023
There are only a handful of states left where bringing expansion to voters directly via the ballot is an option, and even there, it’s an uphill battle. Florida’s rules for ballot initiatives, for example, are onerous, and it’s an expensive state in which to run a campaign. In other states, expansion can happen only with legislative action. “The question is whether people are activated at the individual voter level around the issue in a way that is going to scare state legislators,” Fishman said. Time will tell, and it may take more time now that the pandemic has wreaked havoc on state legislative calendars. Kansas, for example, was on the verge of expansion when it suspended its legislative session in mid-March and then held just a one-day session in May that didn’t deal with the issue.33
The pandemic could push things either way. On the one hand, voters are getting a glimpse of just what it means to have millions of people fall through such a giant tear in the safety net. On the other, opponents of expansion often argue that states can’t afford it, even though the federal government pays nearly all of the costs and states are likely to face other costs from having such a large uninsured population. The fiscal argument may hold emotional sway now that state budgets are under serious strain, thanks to lower tax revenues and a higher demand for assistance.34
What is clear is that if states decided to expand Medicaid, they could get residents insured fairly quickly. Some states have rolled out expansion in a matter of months or even weeks. They can also make coverage retroactive, helping people cover bills they already incurred to get Covid testing and treatment.35
“These are really extraordinary times,” Cross-Call said. “The need to connect people with health coverage is critically important right now.”36
Of course, getting enrolled in health insurance may not be top of mind when someone loses employment during a pandemic of historic proportions. For many, filing for unemployment benefits was likely the first priority, a process that in many states was incredibly complicated and drawn out. So while the number of people enrolling in health coverage under the ACA has gone up, “that uptick is not commensurate with the number of people who have lost employer coverage,” Fishman said. “There are still significant numbers of people falling through the cracks.” He said that if Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins the presidency, “there starts to be a conversation about more automatic enrollment mechanisms. Just making coverage available and trying to make it very easy for people to sign up…can only get you so far.”37
There are other ways that a Biden presidency could narrow the Medicaid coverage gap. While he hasn’t backed Medicare for All, the plan championed by Senator Bernie Sanders that would put everyone on public health insurance, Biden has proposed creating a Medicare-like public option available for purchase in expansion and nonexpansion states alike, with premium costs subsidized through tax credits and capped at a percentage of income. He would also ensure that subsidies were available to make marketplace coverage more affordable for those who qualify.38
John is still trying to put all the pieces of his life back together. He recently called a construction company he used to work for that offers health insurance and pays $18 to $20 an hour. It said it would gladly take him back, but he needs his own transportation to get to jobs. His license was suspended a while ago over a ticket he got for lack of insurance, and now, thanks to the pandemic, there is a month-and-a-half wait just to get an appointment to get a new license. While he waits, he’s clinging to the hope that his current job will pay him more, maybe for selling concrete instead of pipes.39
“I just wish this corona stuff was over with,” he said. “I’m ready to get back to a real job making real money so I can get back into my own house and get back with my son.”40


thenation--2020-10-21--Military Flyovers at NFL Games Are Ridiculous

There is no broadcast team more pleased with their own stentorian authority than NFL announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman .
Buck is an American legacy , the son of legendary play by play man Jack Buck .
Aikman , the handsome , blond former star quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys , might as well be Captain America ’ s uncle .
These two voices of the heartland were caught on a hot mic speaking the kind of truth that they never would have dared utter on the airwaves .
During Sunday ’ s game in Tampa , military fighter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something as normalized in the world of the NFL as 10-dollar beers .
Aikman , in a moment of assumed privacy , as Samer Kalaf at the website Defector revealed , said , “ That ’ s a lot of jet fuel just to do a little flyover.
” Buck responded , “ That ’ s your hard-earned money and your tax dollars at work !
” Aikman rejoined , “ That stuff ain ’ t happening with [ a ] Kamala-Biden ticket .
I ’ ll tell you that right now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
You ’ ll love him in conversation .
Check out Dave Zirin and an extraordinary group of speakers at the first-ever Nation festival , Nov. 18-21 The outrage merchants on social media lost their collective bearings .
Here are Buck and Aikman in all their red , white , and blue branding , disparaging something as “ patriotic ” as a military flyover .
Troy , even more outrageously , then seems to tip his hat to a “ Kamala-Biden ticket ” ( although that could certainly be interpreted as a dig @ @ @ @ @ @ @ name first , not to mention he could be saying that such patriotic ritual would suffer under a Democratic administration .
It ’ s all open to interpretation . )
On Tuesday , Aikman sought to clarify his comments on Twitter : I love a flyover but It was odd to see one over a mostly empty stadium but I am an unwavering patriot that loves this country , has always respected our flag , supported the men and women in the armed forces as well as those in uniform who serve & @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t know me , my beliefs or what I have stood for my entire life .
He then added , as if the point would not be clear enough , an American flag emoji .
It ’ s a damn shame—albeit a predictable one—that Aikman would backpedal with the alacrity of Marlon Humphrey .
“ Hot mic Troy ” is absolutely correct that military flyovers are a terrible waste of money and an ozone-tearing amount of fuel .
These flyovers are rooted in a financial and commercial partnership between the NFL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foot the bill .
The implicit message is , as George Carlin taught us , “ Football is war.
” Objections to this state of affairs should not be considered “ partisan.
” No one in NFL-land wants to be an apostate toward fealty to the military , in part because the owners have spent the past four years slandering a certain exiled quarterback for being “ anti-military ” after he dared take a knee during the anthem to protest racist police violence .
No one can be seen as “ against the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ definitely demands criticism .
In 2015 , Radm .
John Kirby , the Pentagon press secretary and spokesman for the secretary of defense , said of Super Bowl flyovers , “ There is a minimal expense involved.… I think the whole thing , soup to nuts for the flyover , will cost something in the neighborhood of $ 80,000.
” That doesn ’ t seem very minimal when millions have been pushed into poverty since the start of the pandemic and hospitals still scrounge for personal protective equipment .
For the military , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The spectacle acts as publicity , which matters for both recruitment as well as making people feel warm and fuzzy about an institution that gobbles up hundreds of billions of dollars in tax money every year .
In 2008 , Blue Angels press officer Tyson Dunkelberger told the Los Angeles Times , “ For the publicity aspect of it , I ’ d say it ’ s definitely well worth it when you consider the cost to advertise during the Super Bowl .
The more people see our blue jets and recognize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for us.
” These flyovers are a not-so-cheap ploy to drum up recruiting and burn a ton of fossil fuels on our dime .
Objections to this should not be controversial .
But the NFL has wrapped itself so tightly in the military that to publicly criticize the ritual is akin to criticizing not just the NFL but the United States of America .
This is twisted beyond comprehension .
End the flyovers .
End the NFL ’ s obsession with the military .
And while we are at it , defund the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rebuild this desiccated husk of a country .

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There is no broadcast team more pleased with their own stentorian authority than NFL announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Buck is an American legacy, the son of legendary play by play man Jack Buck. Aikman, the handsome, blond former star quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, might as well be Captain America’s uncle. These two voices of the heartland were caught on a hot mic speaking the kind of truth that they never would have dared utter on the airwaves.
During Sunday’s game in Tampa, military fighter jets flew over Raymond James stadium, something as normalized in the world of the NFL as 10-dollar beers. Aikman, in a moment of assumed privacy, as Samer Kalaf at the website Defector revealed, said, “That’s a lot of jet fuel just to do a little flyover.” Buck responded, “That’s your hard-earned money and your tax dollars at work!” Aikman rejoined, “That stuff ain’t happening with [a] Kamala-Biden ticket. I’ll tell you that right now, partner.” Like Dave’s writing? You’ll love him in conversation. Check out Dave Zirin and an extraordinary group of speakers at the first-ever Nation festival, Nov. 18-21
The outrage merchants on social media lost their collective bearings. Here are Buck and Aikman in all their red, white, and blue branding, disparaging something as “patriotic” as a military flyover. Troy, even more outrageously, then seems to tip his hat to a “Kamala-Biden ticket” (although that could certainly be interpreted as a dig at Biden-Harris by saying Harris’s name first, not to mention he could be saying that such patriotic ritual would suffer under a Democratic administration. It’s all open to interpretation.)
On Tuesday, Aikman sought to clarify his comments on Twitter:
I love a flyover but It was odd to see one over a mostly empty stadium but I am an unwavering patriot that loves this country, has always respected our flag, supported the men and women in the armed forces as well as those in uniform who serve & protect and for anyone to suggest otherwise doesn’t know me, my beliefs or what I have stood for my entire life.
He then added, as if the point would not be clear enough, an American flag emoji.
It’s a damn shame—albeit a predictable one—that Aikman would backpedal with the alacrity of Marlon Humphrey. “Hot mic Troy” is absolutely correct that military flyovers are a terrible waste of money and an ozone-tearing amount of fuel. These flyovers are rooted in a financial and commercial partnership between the NFL and the military for which the taxpayers foot the bill. The implicit message is, as George Carlin taught us, “Football is war.” Objections to this state of affairs should not be considered “partisan.” Current Issue View our current issue
No one in NFL-land wants to be an apostate toward fealty to the military, in part because the owners have spent the past four years slandering a certain exiled quarterback for being “anti-military” after he dared take a knee during the anthem to protest racist police violence. No one can be seen as “against the troops,” but this flyover practice definitely demands criticism. In 2015, Radm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary and spokesman for the secretary of defense, said of Super Bowl flyovers, “There is a minimal expense involved.… I think the whole thing, soup to nuts for the flyover, will cost something in the neighborhood of $80,000.”
That doesn’t seem very minimal when millions have been pushed into poverty since the start of the pandemic and hospitals still scrounge for personal protective equipment. For the military, however, this is money well spent. The spectacle acts as publicity, which matters for both recruitment as well as making people feel warm and fuzzy about an institution that gobbles up hundreds of billions of dollars in tax money every year. In 2008, Blue Angels press officer Tyson Dunkelberger told the Los Angeles Times, “For the publicity aspect of it, I’d say it’s definitely well worth it when you consider the cost to advertise during the Super Bowl. The more people see our blue jets and recognize the Navy, the better it is for us.”
These flyovers are a not-so-cheap ploy to drum up recruiting and burn a ton of fossil fuels on our dime. Objections to this should not be controversial. But the NFL has wrapped itself so tightly in the military that to publicly criticize the ritual is akin to criticizing not just the NFL but the United States of America. This is twisted beyond comprehension. End the flyovers. End the NFL’s obsession with the military. And while we are at it, defund the Pentagon, protect the environment, and rebuild this desiccated husk of a country.


thenation--2020-10-21--Bolivians Reclaim Their Democracy

Bolivians Reclaim Their Democracy

On Sunday , October 18 , Luis Arce won the presidency of Bolivia , in a pronounced repudiation of last year ’ s military coup , which had put the current government in power .
Arce is the former economy minister for Evo Morales , who was the first indigenous president of the country with the largest percentage of indigenous people in the Americas .
Morales ’ s democratically elected government was overthrown in November of last year .
The November coup was backed by the Trump administration , and the Organization of American States ( OAS ) leadership played @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for it .
Sunday ’ s election thus has enormous potential implications not only for Bolivia , where it was a necessary step toward the restoration of democracy , but also for the region , in terms of democracy , national independence , economic and social progress , and the struggle against racism .
First , the election : Unofficial quick count results show Arce winning with more than 50 percent of the vote , and at least 20 percentage points ahead of his closest competitor , Carlos Mesa , a former president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even if the final , official count were to put Arce below 50 percent , his margin over Mesa is virtually certain to be large enough to win the election in the first round ( to win in the first round , a contender must get more than 50 percent of the vote , or at least 40 percent with a 10-point margin over the runner-up ) .
Mesa has already conceded , and the de facto president , Jeanine Áñez , congratulated Arce on his victory on Sunday night .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have won even if he were not up against a violently repressive , racist government installed by a coup .
As minister of the economy ever since Morales took office in January 2006 , Arce can claim much credit for what any economist would say was a remarkably successful economic turnaround for Bolivia .
When Morales was first elected , income per person was less than it had been 26 years prior .
By contrast , in the 14 years of his Movement Toward Socialism ( MAS ) government ( 2006–19 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This is a sizable improvement in living standards ( sixth out of 34 countries in the region ) , following on the heels of a stupendous long-term economic failure .
What ‘ The New York Times ’ Got Wrong on Bolivia The Trump Administration Is Undercutting Democracy in Bolivia Poor Bolivians , who are disproportionately indigenous , benefited even more than others from the MAS government ’ s economic successes .
Poverty was reduced by 42 percent and extreme poverty by 60 percent .
Poorer Bolivians also benefited disproportionately from a very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in schools , roads , and hospitals .
By contrast , the 11 months of coup government since last November have been a disaster .
The International Monetary Fund estimates that the Bolivian economy will shrink by 7.9 percent in 2020 .
Of course , most of the world has suffered economic damage from Covid-19 , but Bolivia ’ s death toll as a percentage of its population has been extreme because of the coup government ’ s mismanagement .
Bolivia ranks third of 150 countries in the number of people per million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This is criminal negligence .
Bolivians also suffered from more deliberate crimes under the current government .
These included two massacres by security forces , in which they killed at least 22 people—all of them indigenous .
The overt racism of not only the security forces but also the leaders of the coup itself and the de facto government , as well as that government ’ s repression and political persecution , was documented in a July report by Harvard Law School ’ s International Human Rights Clinic and the University Network for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the month of the coup was “ the second-deadliest month in terms of civilian deaths committed by state forces since Bolivia became a democracy nearly 40 years ago.
” Human Rights Watch found that the de facto government had “ publicly pressured prosecutors and judges to act to further its interests , leading to criminal investigations of more than 100 people linked to the Morales government and Morales supporters for sedition and/or terrorism.
” Among those charged with terrorism is Evo Morales .
Human Rights Watch concluded that the charge “ appears to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his supporters rather than enforcement of the law.
” All of this would not have happened if the right-wing forces—who were unable to win an election for 14 years—had not been able to pull off the coup d ’ état .
And for this , they had a lot of help : On October 21 of last year , the day after the election , the OAS released a statement alleging that there was a “ drastic and hard-to-explain change in the trend of the preliminary results after the closing of the polls.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the allegations were soon refuted .
But the OAS kept repeating the allegation for weeks and then months , and it became the political foundation for the coup of November 10 , and a justification for the abuses that followed .
As was clear from the beginning from publicly available election data , what actually happened was quite simple : Later-reporting areas were more pro-MAS than those that reported earlier .
This happens in many elections , and , not surprisingly , is happening again this year , as the official count @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s election .
On Monday afternoon , the Associated Press reported , “ The formal official count had Mesa with a 41 % to 39 % lead over Arce with 24 % of the vote tallied on Monday , but those votes appeared to be largely from urban areas rather than the rural heartlands that have been the base of Morales ’ support.
” And indeed , Arce soon pulled ahead and was on his way to a lead that will approximate the more than 20-point lead that the quick count reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , easily explainable trend manifested itself last year , pushing Evo Morales ’ s lead from 7.9 percentage points to a more than 10-point margin—enough to win in the first round—the OAS created a false story about fraud .
Most of the major media accepted its story .
The OAS published three reports in the months following its initial press release , but never even considered the question of whether the later-reporting areas were politically different from the ones that reported earlier .
This was an electoral observation mission staffed by professional election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least as much about this as someone who watches election returns on television .
It is simply not believable that this common and widely understood election phenomenon never even occurred to the organization .
On November 25 , four members of the US Congress asked the OAS if the organization had thought of this possibility , but nearly a year later have still not received an answer to this or 10 other basic questions they asked .
Two of these representatives , Jan Schakowsky and Jesús “ Chuy ” García ( both Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to investigate what the OAS did ( Congress approves about 60 percent of OAS funding ) .
The OAS has refused to answer most questions from journalists , at least on the record ; and it never answered a letter from 133 economists and statisticians that raised the same issues and questions put forth by members of Congress about the OAS ’ s false statements .
But the General Secretariat of the OAS did respond to a June 7 article in The New York Times that cited statistical evidence indicating that the OAS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The office unleashed a torrent of abuse at the Times , arguing that it “ intends to deny the Bolivian People the possibility of electing a new president that is not Evo Morales in a new election.
” Attacking more than 90 years of Times reporting , the Secretariat attributed this alleged partiality toward Morales to the newspaper ’ s “ well-documented controversial history with truth in relation to dictatorships and totalitarianism , ” including those of Stalin , Castro , and even Hitler .
This , from an organization that is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ population of more than a billion people .
All this shows how important it is to stop the OAS from being used by the US government as an instrument of regime change .
The OAS has done this before : In Haiti ’ s 2000 election , where the OAS changed its analysis to provide the pretext for a cutoff of almost all international aid , culminating in the US-backed coup of 2004 ; and in 2011 , when the OAS did something that perhaps no other electoral observation mission ever did , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first round of Haiti ’ s presidential election .
Of course , we also need to stop regime change from being Washington ’ s default policy for dealing with left governments in Latin America .
In the 21st century , the majority of people in Latin America and the Caribbean elected left governments , which were more independent than their predecessors .
Washington intervened to undermine almost all of them , including in Argentina , Brazil , Bolivia , Haiti , Honduras , Nicaragua , Venezuela , and Paraguay—and almost certainly more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only circumstantial—in some cases contributing to actual regime change .
These interventions can be devastating and long-lasting in their effects , as can be seen in a number of the above countries that fell victim to US regime-change operations in just this century .
That is why this reversal of regime change in Bolivia is so important—not only for Bolivia , but for the entire hemisphere .

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On Sunday, October 18, Luis Arce won the presidency of Bolivia, in a pronounced repudiation of last year’s military coup, which had put the current government in power. Arce is the former economy minister for Evo Morales, who was the first indigenous president of the country with the largest percentage of indigenous people in the Americas. Morales’s democratically elected government was overthrown in November of last year.
The November coup was backed by the Trump administration, and the Organization of American States (OAS) leadership played a central role in laying the foundations for it. Sunday’s election thus has enormous potential implications not only for Bolivia, where it was a necessary step toward the restoration of democracy, but also for the region, in terms of democracy, national independence, economic and social progress, and the struggle against racism.
First, the election: Unofficial quick count results show Arce winning with more than 50 percent of the vote, and at least 20 percentage points ahead of his closest competitor, Carlos Mesa, a former president. A majority is decisive, but even if the final, official count were to put Arce below 50 percent, his margin over Mesa is virtually certain to be large enough to win the election in the first round (to win in the first round, a contender must get more than 50 percent of the vote, or at least 40 percent with a 10-point margin over the runner-up). Mesa has already conceded, and the de facto president, Jeanine Áñez, congratulated Arce on his victory on Sunday night.
It’s not difficult to see why Arce would have won even if he were not up against a violently repressive, racist government installed by a coup. As minister of the economy ever since Morales took office in January 2006, Arce can claim much credit for what any economist would say was a remarkably successful economic turnaround for Bolivia. When Morales was first elected, income per person was less than it had been 26 years prior. By contrast, in the 14 years of his Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) government (2006–19), it grew by about 52 percent. This is a sizable improvement in living standards (sixth out of 34 countries in the region), following on the heels of a stupendous long-term economic failure. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann More on Bolivia Bolivia’s Coup Is Still Happening Zeeshan Aleem What ‘The New York Times’ Got Wrong on Bolivia Greg Grandin The Trump Administration Is Undercutting Democracy in Bolivia Mark Weisbrot Bolivia’s Remarkable Socialist Success Story Zeeshan Aleem
Poor Bolivians, who are disproportionately indigenous, benefited even more than others from the MAS government’s economic successes. Poverty was reduced by 42 percent and extreme poverty by 60 percent. Poorer Bolivians also benefited disproportionately from a very large increase in public investment, including in schools, roads, and hospitals.
By contrast, the 11 months of coup government since last November have been a disaster. The International Monetary Fund estimates that the Bolivian economy will shrink by 7.9 percent in 2020. Of course, most of the world has suffered economic damage from Covid-19, but Bolivia’s death toll as a percentage of its population has been extreme because of the coup government’s mismanagement. Bolivia ranks third of 150 countries in the number of people per million who have died from the Covid-19. This is criminal negligence.
Bolivians also suffered from more deliberate crimes under the current government. These included two massacres by security forces, in which they killed at least 22 people—all of them indigenous. The overt racism of not only the security forces but also the leaders of the coup itself and the de facto government, as well as that government’s repression and political persecution, was documented in a July report by Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic and the University Network for Human Rights. This report found that the month of the coup was “the second-deadliest month in terms of civilian deaths committed by state forces since Bolivia became a democracy nearly 40 years ago.” Current Issue View our current issue
Human Rights Watch found that the de facto government had “publicly pressured prosecutors and judges to act to further its interests, leading to criminal investigations of more than 100 people linked to the Morales government and Morales supporters for sedition and/or terrorism.” Among those charged with terrorism is Evo Morales. Human Rights Watch concluded that the charge “appears to be a political attack on Morales and his supporters rather than enforcement of the law.”
All of this would not have happened if the right-wing forces—who were unable to win an election for 14 years—had not been able to pull off the coup d’état. And for this, they had a lot of help: On October 21 of last year, the day after the election, the OAS released a statement alleging that there was a “drastic and hard-to-explain change in the trend of the preliminary results after the closing of the polls.” The organization provided no evidence, and the allegations were soon refuted. But the OAS kept repeating the allegation for weeks and then months, and it became the political foundation for the coup of November 10, and a justification for the abuses that followed.
As was clear from the beginning from publicly available election data, what actually happened was quite simple: Later-reporting areas were more pro-MAS than those that reported earlier. This happens in many elections, and, not surprisingly, is happening again this year, as the official count is tabulated in the days after Sunday’s election.
On Monday afternoon, the Associated Press reported, “The formal official count had Mesa with a 41% to 39% lead over Arce with 24% of the vote tallied on Monday, but those votes appeared to be largely from urban areas rather than the rural heartlands that have been the base of Morales’ support.” And indeed, Arce soon pulled ahead and was on his way to a lead that will approximate the more than 20-point lead that the quick count reported Sunday night.
But when the same, easily explainable trend manifested itself last year, pushing Evo Morales’s lead from 7.9 percentage points to a more than 10-point margin—enough to win in the first round—the OAS created a false story about fraud. Most of the major media accepted its story. The OAS published three reports in the months following its initial press release, but never even considered the question of whether the later-reporting areas were politically different from the ones that reported earlier. This was an electoral observation mission staffed by professional election observers who would have to know at least as much about this as someone who watches election returns on television. It is simply not believable that this common and widely understood election phenomenon never even occurred to the organization.
On November 25, four members of the US Congress asked the OAS if the organization had thought of this possibility, but nearly a year later have still not received an answer to this or 10 other basic questions they asked. Two of these representatives, Jan Schakowsky and Jesús “Chuy” García (both Democrats from Chicago) have called for Congress to investigate what the OAS did (Congress approves about 60 percent of OAS funding).
The OAS has refused to answer most questions from journalists, at least on the record; and it never answered a letter from 133 economists and statisticians that raised the same issues and questions put forth by members of Congress about the OAS’s false statements.
But the General Secretariat of the OAS did respond to a June 7 article in The New York Times that cited statistical evidence indicating that the OAS allegations of a stolen election were false. The office unleashed a torrent of abuse at the Times, arguing that it “intends to deny the Bolivian People the possibility of electing a new president that is not Evo Morales in a new election.” Attacking more than 90 years of Times reporting, the Secretariat attributed this alleged partiality toward Morales to the newspaper’s “well-documented controversial history with truth in relation to dictatorships and totalitarianism,” including those of Stalin, Castro, and even Hitler. This, from an organization that is supposed to represent countries with a combined population of more than a billion people.
All this shows how important it is to stop the OAS from being used by the US government as an instrument of regime change. The OAS has done this before: In Haiti’s 2000 election, where the OAS changed its analysis to provide the pretext for a cutoff of almost all international aid, culminating in the US-backed coup of 2004; and in 2011, when the OAS did something that perhaps no other electoral observation mission ever did, when it simply overturned the results of the first round of Haiti’s presidential election.
Of course, we also need to stop regime change from being Washington’s default policy for dealing with left governments in Latin America. In the 21st century, the majority of people in Latin America and the Caribbean elected left governments, which were more independent than their predecessors. Washington intervened to undermine almost all of them, including in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Paraguay—and almost certainly more, for which the evidence is still only circumstantial—in some cases contributing to actual regime change.
These interventions can be devastating and long-lasting in their effects, as can be seen in a number of the above countries that fell victim to US regime-change operations in just this century. That is why this reversal of regime change in Bolivia is so important—not only for Bolivia, but for the entire hemisphere.


thenation--2020-10-21--Iowa Could Make Joe Biden President, and Give Him a Democratic Senate to Work With

ubuque , owa—After Donald Trump swept Iowa by an overwhelming margin in 2016 , the prospects for a Democratic comeback in the historic swing state did not look good .
Perhaps , Republican operatives gleefully suggested , the historic swing state was headed the way of the more reliably Republican Great Plains states to its west .
After the 2016 election , Iowa had a Republican governor , two Republican US senators , a Republican-dominated US House delegation , and it had just backed the Republican nominee for president by a wider margin than he ’ d secured in Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s 99 counties .
Where Barack Obama held his own in rural areas , carrying 53 counties in 2008 and 38 in 2012 , Hillary Clinton scraped by with just a handful of urban centers and college towns where voters kept the blue flag flying .
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You ’ ll love him in conversation .
Check out John and an extraordinary group of speakers at the first-ever virtual Nation festival , Nov. 18-21 .
The trendlines looked bad .
The Chicago Tribune observed , “ Iowa , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 surge , is not an obvious place for a Democratic comeback.
” As the 2020 competition began to take shape a year ago , every major suggested Trump would beat a Democratic ticket led by Joe Biden .
Many of the same polls had Republican Senator Joni Ernst headed for an easy win .
Ernst looked so strong that the state ’ s best-known Democrats took a pass on the Senate race Yet , with the November 3 election less than two weeks away , the Real Clear Politics average of recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 46.3 percent for Trump , and Democrat Theresa Greenfield at 47.4 percent to 42.5 percent for Ernst .
The numbers have made Trump , Ernst , and their strategists desperate .
Fresh from his Covid quarantine , the president swept into Des Moines last week for a rally that a billboard erected by the group Iowa Rural America 2020 identified as the trump covid superspreader event .
Trump fondly recalled winning Iowa in 2016—while inflating his victory margin—and pleaded with voters to stick with him .
“ Get your friends , get your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your workers and coworkers , and get the hell out to vote because if I don ’ t get Iowa I won ’ t believe that one , ” shouted the president .
His desperation was echoed by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds , who like the president has been accused of mismanaging the coronavirus pandemic .
“ Don ’ t believe the polls , ” Reynolds an aging crowd of mostly unmasked Iowans .
“ Don ’ t believe what the media is telling you.
” What Joe Biden Can Learn From Jacinda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back Biden and send a Democrat to the Senate .
The epicenter of the Republican surge of 2016 could become the epicenter of a Democratic comeback .
It ’ s true that Iowa is a small state in terms of population , with just six electoral votes .
Yet it looms large in the thinking of Biden strategists .
If the former vice president wins Iowa , it is hard to imagine that he doesn ’ t win the neighboring battleground states of Minnesota and Wisconsin , which are essential to Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republican trailing , as do polls from the equally essential states of Michigan and Pennsylvania .
“ Usually , in the states that are battlegrounds , when they flip they flip for the same reasons , ” says Pete D ’ Alessandro , a veteran Iowa campaign strategist for candidates such as Bill Bradley and Bernie Sanders , who is currently working with the national group Our Revolution .
“ If you can flip voters in Iowa , if you ’ re able to win them here , you win them in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Biden would put the Democrat on the offensive .
If he swings Iowa and another state Trump swept in 2016 , Ohio , Biden ’ s Electoral College options open up .
Even if he were to stumble in a state such as Pennsylvania or Florida , the Democrat would still have the electoral votes to prevail .
And if he wins the Midwestern battleground states as well as Pennsylvania and Florida , Biden could be headed toward a major victory .
But simply winning the White House in 2020 is insufficient @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he can work with .
That ’ s why the Iowa Senate race is such a big deal .
Democrats have to gain four seats to secure a clear majority in the chamber .
In three states with vulnerable Republican incumbents—Arizona , Colorado , and Maine—polls have Democratic challengers leading .
Iowa is now one of several states that could add a fourth Democratic senator .
Greenfield , who is relatively new to electoral politics but has shown a knack for connecting with urban and rural voters , is not engaging in hyperbole @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never imagined that someone like me , a scrappy farm kid , could come this close to unseating a corporate PAC-backed GOP incumbent—but we have , together.
” Ernst , who blew a question about soybean prices in a recent debate , is pouring money into negative ads in a fierce fight to save her seat .
But D ’ Alessandro , who monitors Senate races nationwide , says , “ If Theresa Greenfield wins Iowa , that means a lot of people looked at things this year and decided we need to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ level but in the Senate .
If it happens here , it likely to happens in other states where Senate seats are in play.
” So what ’ s going on in Iowa ?
The truth is that the state was always more competitive than it seemed .
Iowa began to reject Trump and the Republicans in 2018 , when Democrats picked up two House seats .
This year , Biden hired good people in Iowa and invested resources early .
That commitment has boosted Democratic numbers in the suburbs of Des Moines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sense that Biden ’ s making up ground in rural counties .
In part , that ’ s because voters who took a chance on Trump felt burned by the Republican ’ s cavalier embrace of trade wars that did real harm to farmers and by a growing recognition that the reality-TV-star president could care less about rural America .
“ When President Obama came to Iowa when the state experienced flooding years ago , he ’ d join me while meeting with farmers in their cornfields , ” explains former Iowa governor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s secretary of agriculture .
“ When Pence and Trump came to the state , they didn ’ t go to any of the state ’ s farms .
Instead , they treated Iowa as if it was just a photo-op.
” Biden ’ s campaign targets rural areas with advertising and mobilization efforts in Iowa and other Midwest states , and it seems to be working .
“ I don ’ t think Biden is going to win a majority of the rural vote , but he ’ s closing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and author of Harvest the Vote : How Democrats Can Win Again In Rural America .
But there is more to it than that .
Covid-19 has become a major issue for rural America .
The virus is surging in Iowa , as it is in other Midwest states .
“ The nation ’ s pandemic hotspots have shifted to rural communities , overwhelming small hospitals that are running out of beds or lack the intensive care units for more than one or two seriously ill patients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ And in much of the Midwest and Great Plains , hospital workers are catching the virus at home and in their communities , seriously reducing already slim benches of doctors , nurses and other professionals needed to keep rural hospitals running.
” KCCI-TV in Des Moines reported Tuesday , “ More Iowans are now hospitalized with coronavirus than at any point of the pandemic.
” Iowa on Tuesday reported 727 new Covid-19 cases and 14 additional deaths.
” That brought the total number of positive cases for the state to 108,297 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of deaths to 1,548 .
Trump has misjudged everything about Covid-19 , practically and politically .
That desperate rally he held in Des Moines last week , where he tried to pack in as many supporters as possible for another Iowa photo-op , sent exactly the wrong signal at exactly the wrong time in exactly the wrong place .

D ubuque, I owa—After Donald Trump swept Iowa by an overwhelming margin in 2016, the prospects for a Democratic comeback in the historic swing state did not look good. Perhaps, Republican operatives gleefully suggested, the historic swing state was headed the way of the more reliably Republican Great Plains states to its west. After the 2016 election, Iowa had a Republican governor, two Republican US senators, a Republican-dominated US House delegation, and it had just backed the Republican nominee for president by a wider margin than he’d secured in Texas. Trump won 93 of Iowa’s 99 counties. Where Barack Obama held his own in rural areas, carrying 53 counties in 2008 and 38 in 2012, Hillary Clinton scraped by with just a handful of urban centers and college towns where voters kept the blue flag flying. Like John’s writing? You’ll love him in conversation. Check out John and an extraordinary group of speakers at the first-ever virtual Nation festival, Nov. 18-21.
The trendlines looked bad. The Chicago Tribune observed, “Iowa, the epicenter of the Republicans’ 2014 and 2016 surge, is not an obvious place for a Democratic comeback.” As the 2020 competition began to take shape a year ago, every major suggested Trump would beat a Democratic ticket led by Joe Biden. Many of the same polls had Republican Senator Joni Ernst headed for an easy win. Ernst looked so strong that the state’s best-known Democrats took a pass on the Senate race
Yet, with the November 3 election less than two weeks away, the Real Clear Politics average of recent polls have Biden at 47.5 percent to 46.3 percent for Trump, and Democrat Theresa Greenfield at 47.4 percent to 42.5 percent for Ernst.
The numbers have made Trump, Ernst, and their strategists desperate. Fresh from his Covid quarantine, the president swept into Des Moines last week for a rally that a billboard erected by the group Iowa Rural America 2020 identified as the trump covid superspreader event. Trump fondly recalled winning Iowa in 2016—while inflating his victory margin—and pleaded with voters to stick with him. “Get your friends, get your family, get your neighbors, get your workers and coworkers, and get the hell out to vote because if I don’t get Iowa I won’t believe that one,” shouted the president. His desperation was echoed by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who like the president has been accused of mismanaging the coronavirus pandemic. “Don’t believe the polls,” Reynolds an aging crowd of mostly unmasked Iowans. “Don’t believe what the media is telling you.” More From John Nichols A GOP Debate Without Trump Is the Definition of Pointlessness August 11, 2023 A Win for Abortion Rights, a Win for Democracy: Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1 August 9, 2023 The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself August 4, 2023
Believe it. Iowa might well back Biden and send a Democrat to the Senate. The epicenter of the Republican surge of 2016 could become the epicenter of a Democratic comeback. It’s true that Iowa is a small state in terms of population, with just six electoral votes. Yet it looms large in the thinking of Biden strategists. If the former vice president wins Iowa, it is hard to imagine that he doesn’t win the neighboring battleground states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, which are essential to Trump’s reelection strategy—and where polls now have the Republican trailing, as do polls from the equally essential states of Michigan and Pennsylvania. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
“Usually, in the states that are battlegrounds, when they flip they flip for the same reasons,” says Pete D’Alessandro, a veteran Iowa campaign strategist for candidates such as Bill Bradley and Bernie Sanders, who is currently working with the national group Our Revolution. “If you can flip voters in Iowa, if you’re able to win them here, you win them in those other states.”
An Iowa win for Biden would put the Democrat on the offensive. If he swings Iowa and another state Trump swept in 2016, Ohio, Biden’s Electoral College options open up. Even if he were to stumble in a state such as Pennsylvania or Florida, the Democrat would still have the electoral votes to prevail. And if he wins the Midwestern battleground states as well as Pennsylvania and Florida, Biden could be headed toward a major victory. Current Issue View our current issue
But simply winning the White House in 2020 is insufficient for Biden. He needs a Congress he can work with. That’s why the Iowa Senate race is such a big deal. Democrats have to gain four seats to secure a clear majority in the chamber. In three states with vulnerable Republican incumbents—Arizona, Colorado, and Maine—polls have Democratic challengers leading. Iowa is now one of several states that could add a fourth Democratic senator. Greenfield, who is relatively new to electoral politics but has shown a knack for connecting with urban and rural voters, is not engaging in hyperbole when she tells supporters, “I never imagined that someone like me, a scrappy farm kid, could come this close to unseating a corporate PAC-backed GOP incumbent—but we have, together.”
Ernst, who blew a question about soybean prices in a recent debate, is pouring money into negative ads in a fierce fight to save her seat. But D’Alessandro, who monitors Senate races nationwide, says, “If Theresa Greenfield wins Iowa, that means a lot of people looked at things this year and decided we need to make a change—not just at the presidential level but in the Senate. If it happens here, it likely to happens in other states where Senate seats are in play.”
So what’s going on in Iowa? The truth is that the state was always more competitive than it seemed. Iowa began to reject Trump and the Republicans in 2018, when Democrats picked up two House seats. This year, Biden hired good people in Iowa and invested resources early. That commitment has boosted Democratic numbers in the suburbs of Des Moines. There’s also a growing sense that Biden’s making up ground in rural counties. In part, that’s because voters who took a chance on Trump felt burned by the Republican’s cavalier embrace of trade wars that did real harm to farmers and by a growing recognition that the reality-TV-star president could care less about rural America. “When President Obama came to Iowa when the state experienced flooding years ago, he’d join me while meeting with farmers in their cornfields,” explains former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, who served as Obama’s secretary of agriculture. “When Pence and Trump came to the state, they didn’t go to any of the state’s farms. Instead, they treated Iowa as if it was just a photo-op.”
Biden’s campaign targets rural areas with advertising and mobilization efforts in Iowa and other Midwest states, and it seems to be working. “I don’t think Biden is going to win a majority of the rural vote, but he’s closing the gap,” says Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and author of Harvest the Vote: How Democrats Can Win Again In Rural America. Bellweather Progressive Kara Eastman Is Pulling Ahead in Omaha’s Bellwether Congressional District John Nichols
But there is more to it than that. Covid-19 has become a major issue for rural America. The virus is surging in Iowa, as it is in other Midwest states. “The nation’s pandemic hotspots have shifted to rural communities, overwhelming small hospitals that are running out of beds or lack the intensive care units for more than one or two seriously ill patients,” notes the Pew Charitable Trust. “And in much of the Midwest and Great Plains, hospital workers are catching the virus at home and in their communities, seriously reducing already slim benches of doctors, nurses and other professionals needed to keep rural hospitals running.” KCCI-TV in Des Moines reported Tuesday, “More Iowans are now hospitalized with coronavirus than at any point of the pandemic.” Iowa on Tuesday reported 727 new Covid-19 cases and 14 additional deaths.” That brought the total number of positive cases for the state to 108,297 total positive cases, the total number of deaths to 1,548.
Trump has misjudged everything about Covid-19, practically and politically. That desperate rally he held in Des Moines last week, where he tried to pack in as many supporters as possible for another Iowa photo-op, sent exactly the wrong signal at exactly the wrong time in exactly the wrong place.