Complicating the Agriculture Department’s role, the agency also administers free and reduced-price meals at schools, thousands of which are closing. The House coronavirus package included a provision that would increase food-stamp benefits to parents who have children that cannot receive meals at school because of closures. Medicaid could help poor Americans weather the pandemic, particularly some of the 27 million people lacking health insurance. Yet the Trump administration has not offered states the option of covering some of all of them during the outbreak, a move previous administrations made did during emergencies. President Trump’s emergency declaration could change that by allowing states to quickly receive certain waivers from the rules; such waivers could also streamline the often-burdensome process of enrolling people in Medicaid.

Source: New York Times March 13, 2020 22:11 UTC