Expanding Possibilities by Expanding Medicaid in Missouri

The Missouri Foundation for Health worked alongside REMI to produce their recently released report, “Economic Impacts of Increased Federal Funding in Missouri Associated with an Expansion of its MO HealthNet Program,” that researched the impact of expanded Medicaid on Missouri’s economic growth.

You can read the Missouri Foundation for Health’s official press release about the new study by clicking here.

The report was also covered in an article by The Caldwell County News in Hamilton, MO that focused on the expansion’s benefit to households in the state, as well as the projected increases of Missouri’s annual personal income and yearly savings.

You can access the article written by The Caldwell County News by clicking here.

You can also access the full Missouri Foundation for Health and REMI report by clicking here.

Accepting Their New Position: COVID-19’s Effect on the Tennessee Economy & Workforce

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee met with economists and other state leaders to discuss how COVID-19 has disrupted their economy and labor force earlier this week, as covered by WBIR TV-10 in Knoxville.

Despite the obvious difficulties that a pandemic brings, attendees believed that the state is set up sufficiently enough to weather the storm. They did agree, however, that it will take well over a year for the economy to regulate after the significant declines across the board to numerous organizations, industries, and state institutions.

“Our work is more important today and in the coming weeks than it has been in some time. We certainly are in a strong financial position in this state and that’s a very good thing because we have unprecedented challenges,” said Gov. Lee.

The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Research Center recently used the REMI model to conduct a study examining employment levels in the cities of Nashville and Clarksville, as well as the rest of Tennessee as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysts projected the impact of reduced job totals, personal income, and more out to the year 2030 to potentially determine when normal economic activity might be reinstated in the state.

You can read all of WBIR TV-10’s article by clicking here.

You can also access the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s report, “Economic Impact of Disruption to All Sectors for the State of Tennessee, the Nashville MSA, and the Clarksville MSA,” by clicking here.

Uncertain Futures: Employment in California

The Los Angeles Times detailed California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent press conference that shed light on how COVID-19 has impacted employment in the state. The article explains that unemployment numbers have already surpassed the peak of the Great Recession, which puts pressure on California to borrow more money from the federal government.

As of March 12th, more than double the amount of unemployment claims that were filed during the height of the Great Recession were sent to the California Employment Development Department due to displacement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the new budget proposed by Gov. Newsom, “the state will likely need to borrow in the tens of billions of dollars, resulting in significant future annual interest payments until the loans are repaid.”

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) recently released a preliminary report that analyzed the potential employment and taxable sales implications of COVID-19, as well as provided a detailed industry breakdown to identify the region’s areas of most need.

You can read the Los Angeles Times’ article by clicking here.

You can also access the SCAG assessment, “Potential Economic Impacts of COVID-19 in the SCAG Region,” by clicking here.

Virginia’s Potential Economic Outcomes Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

WTVR CBS 6 News Richmond published a recent article discussing the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service’s latest report, “COVID-19 Economic and Tax Revenue Impacts: Estimates for the Commonwealth of Virginia and Localities.”

The article covers how the Weldon Cooper Center used the REMI PI⁺ model to produce two economic scenarios related to the impact of COVID-19 on the state of Virginia and its tax revenues, as well as highlights a few of the key results discovered in their analysis.

Bill Shobe, Director of the Weldon Cooper Center’s Center for Economic and Policy Studies, spoke with WTVR 6 about the intent of the study, saying, “Understanding the likely range of changes in income (GDP) and employment will help state and local government develop budget contingency plans that can reduce the overall costs of the economic emergency.”

You can read WTVR 6’s article by clicking here.

You can also access the full report produced by the University of Virginia by clicking here.

March REMI Washington, D.C. Policy Luncheon Cancelled

In order to comply with the interim guidance for coronavirus disease 2019 set out by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, REMI will not be holding its monthly Washington, D.C. policy luncheon on March 26th.

We apologize for any inconvenience. We hope to be able to host a luncheon next month in Washington, D.C. Thank you for your understanding.