Wallace to Walensky: Aren't $16B a month in COVID benefits now just another federal bag of "goodies"?

WALLACE: “Given what the President was reflecting, do we still need to have these public health emergencies? And let me point out something, because part of that, a cynic would say, is that it allows the Biden Administration to give out $16 billion a month in welfare benefits. And let me put up some of what the benefits are that that come from the public health emergency: more generous food stamps, a restriction on state work requirements, more people can stay on Medicaid. In addition, billions in student debt have been cancelled. I guess the question is, does the situation in terms of Covid, in terms of the, you know, the public health situation, justify these emergencies, or is this just a way for the administration to hand out more federal goodies?”

Walensky: “You know, what I think that we need to understand is the public health emergency, and certainly this is a decision that lies with the Secretary, but the public health emergency does unlock important things for us. It unlocks our ability to see data at the CDC, for example. It unlocks capacity for emergency use authorizations of new tests that might be available. So there are certain things that public health emergency does unlock. We do need a pathway towards commercialization of the therapeutics and vaccines that have gotten us out of this pandemic or towards the end of this pandemic — and all of those are at play and in conversation, as I think the Secretary is thinking about when — “

WALLACE: “Secretary of Health and — “

Walensky: “ — Human Services, thank you, Secretary Becerra.”

WALLACE: “Okay, all of that makes sense, but does it justify $16 billion in welfare benefits every month?”

Walensky: “Right, so I think that the important question here is, are the things that that it unlocks so necessary in this moment that — because it unlocks a lot of things, and many of the things we need to get a pathway to commercialization of these products.”

WALLACE: “You’re kind of ducking the other question about the benefits.”
Walensky: “You know, I don’t mean to. I think that it unlocks a lot of things that have been really important as we’ve gotten out of it, and so there’s a lot in the basket of what the public health emergency does and the question is, can we tease apart the things that we really need in this moment versus those other things?”