Money Management

Although the worst of the pandemic is over, COVID-19 has not been eradicated. Will funding cuts to community health centers cause an uptick in cases? Read on to learn more. 

While politicians debated the need for stimulus aid during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans depended upon the assistance. Here’s how the end of the federal government’s COVID-19 public health emergency may leave the most vulnerable among us out in the cold.

Nonprofit healthcare providers

Stimulus funds sent during the pandemic allowed U.S. community health centers to serve more low-income and vulnerable patients as COVID-19 moved through their neighborhoods. Many of those helped do not have enough money in the bank to pay for a doctor’s visit and may juggle several serious health concerns. Local health centers provided them with a short-term lifeline.

When the federal government’s COVID-19 public health emergency officially ends next month, many who depended on community health centers will lose that lifeline.

The loss of continuous coverage

After the U.S. declared a public health emergency in 2020, a modification was made to Medicaid, the program that provides health coverage to eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, older Americans, and people living with disabilities. For the duration of the pandemic, extra federal funding was given to all 50 state governments to provide “continuous coverage” to Medicaid recipients.

Continuous coverage ensured that Medicaid recipients would not lose their health coverage during the pandemic unless they asked for it to be canceled, moved out of state, or died. That means that millions of Americans who would have been kicked off Medicaid remained enrolled, a benefit that allowed them to seek medical care from community healthcare providers.

According to estimates from Kaiser Family Foundation, between 5.3 million and 14.2 million Medicaid enrollees could either lose their coverage or face barriers to re-enrolling in the upcoming weeks. This during a time when Americans are increasingly burdened by medical debt.

Wide ranging impact

A National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) poll found that 85% of community health centers are concerned about how the decrease in Medicaid coverage will impact their services. More than 50% already expect to reduce staff and scale back services.

It’s not just Medicaid recipients who visit community health centers. Such medical facilities are also where uninsured Americans visit when the need for medical care is critical. Cutting back on existing programs is sure to have a ripple effect on them as well.

Community health centers will continue to help uninsured people, but without funding from Medicaid or other sources, it will be challenging to make ends meet.

A surge in COVID-19 cases?

It was community healthcare centers that served marginalized communities during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. That means that sick people who a doctor might not have otherwise seen had someplace to go and could learn about vaccinations from people they knew and trusted.

Although the COVID-19 health crisis is “officially” over, COVID-19 cases have not been eradicated. It remains to be seen if more cases will pop up as underserved communities nationwide lose access to healthcare.

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Airport food tends to have some of the highest markups around. Priority Pass members can skip the expensive convenience foods and do this instead. 

There are a lot of good reasons to avoid airplane food. For one thing, it doesn’t exactly have a reputation for deliciousness. And for another, it tends to be some of the most expensive food you can buy.

That is, unless you try to buy food at the airport. Talk about upcharges!

If you have the right travel rewards card in your pocket, however, you may have a few ways around such exorbitant food prices. In particular, cardholders who are also Priority Pass members have two ways they can score a free meal while traveling.

1. The lounges

Airport lounges are awesome. Indeed, if you ask me, even a crowded lounge is better than no lounge at all. Not the least because of the free food (and drinks).

There are more than 1,300 Priority Pass lounges worldwide, and most (if not all) of them offer some sort of meal option. In many, you’ll find a tantalizing buffet. Some may have sit-down meal service as well (or instead).

Either way, you’re looking at a decent meal — without the airport markup. In fact, there usually isn’t a charge at all. Once you’re in the lounge, you’re typically free to eat as much as you like. (Note that most lounges don’t like you to take food out of the lounge, so maybe avoid asking for a doggy bag!)

2. Participating restaurants

Sometimes, you may be in an airport — or a specific terminal — that doesn’t contain a Priority-Pass-accessible lounge. That won’t necessarily mean you’ll have to fill your own feed bag, though.

There are dozens of airport restaurants that are actually part of the Priority Pass network. As such, Priority Pass members get a good-sized credit (usually around $28, though it may vary by location) to use toward your order.

Even better, your credit is doubled when you have a guest. Just as you can bring a guest (or sometimes two) into a Priority Pass lounge for free, you can get an extra restaurant credit when you dine with a guest.

You can find eligible restaurants on the Priority Pass website or in the app. Be sure to tell your server you’ll be using your Priority Pass ahead of time. Some restaurants will swipe your card upfront, while others will wait until they present your bill.

How to get Priority Pass

If this all sounds like a sweet (and savory!) deal — it is. So how can you get in on this action yourself? There are two main ways to get a Priority Pass membership:

Get it for free with your travel credit card. There are a lot of great credit cards with lounge access, and most of them come with some form of Priority Pass. (Keep in mind that if you want the restaurant credit, you’ll need a Chase credit card with Priority Pass. American Express and Capital One Priority Pass memberships don’t include restaurant credits.)Sign up for a membership directly. Even if you don’t have the right travel card, you can still get a Priority Pass membership through the company itself. Prices are a bit steep, however; to have unlimited free visits, you’ll need the $469-a-year plan, and it doesn’t come with guest visits.

The only thing worse than a long travel day is being hangry during that long travel day. But this isn’t a problem for the prepared Priority Pass participant.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.American Express is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Brittney Myers has positions in American Express. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Automobiles are a major purchase for many households. Finance expert Dave Ramsey says to sell your car if you’re upside down on it. Read on to learn why. 

If you are buying a car, chances are good you are going to end up taking out a loan in order to do it. Paying cash for a car can be hard. And, a lot of people borrow instead of waiting until they have enough in their savings account because they need a vehicle right away.

If you have taken out a car loan to buy a vehicle, there is a chance you could end up owing more than your car is worth. This is called being “upside down” or underwater on your car loan. If you find yourself in this situation, finance expert Dave Ramsey believes you need to sell your vehicle.

But, should you?

Here’s why Dave Ramsey thinks you need to sell your car if you’re upside down

According to Ramsey, selling the vehicle is your best solution if you no longer want to owe more on your car than it is worth. “If you want to get out of an upside-down loan, you’ve got to sell the car,” Ramsey said. “That’s right — it’s time to amputate the Tahoe (or whatever car you’re underwater on).”

The problem, however, is that selling the car isn’t going to generate enough money to pay off the loan balance in full. That’s the very definition of being upside down on the car loan. Ramsey acknowledges this issue, and says you’ll have to come up with the cash to pay off the remaining loan balance after you have sold the car.

According to Ramsey, you can find the money to pay off the remaining balance of the car loan either by waiting to sell the car until you’ve saved enough money to pay off any outstanding amount due. So, if you were $5,000 short on being able to pay off the loan after selling, you’d wait to sell until you had saved up the $5,000.

The other option he says you can consider is taking a personal loan for the difference between what you owe and what you can sell the car for. “If you’re drowning in car payments or you’re just plain sick of looking at the stupid thing sitting in the driveway, getting a personal loan so you can move on quickly is probably the best route for you,” he advised.

Should you follow Ramsey’s advice?

Before you decide to follow Ramsey’s advice, you need to think carefully about whether it makes sense for you because sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.

If your monthly car loan payments are taking up so much of your budget that you can’t do other things, then you should sell your car and buy a cheaper one. You should do that ASAP because otherwise you’re going to keep falling further and further behind as you struggle to make that payment each month.

This is true whether you are upside down on the car or not — being upside down just adds complexity to the situation since you have to come up with that extra cash. Still, it’s worth trying to get the car payments out of your budget, as long as you’re then committed to either going without a vehicle for a while or opting for the cheapest car you can find so your new payments are much more affordable for you.

But, if you can afford the monthly payments on the car you currently have, selling it isn’t likely to really improve your financial situation. You’ll have just spent a ton of money to try to get the loan balance paid off only to have to buy another car. If you don’t have the cash to do that, you’d be getting another loan, which would mean you’d need a down payment for it and you’d risk going underwater again if you didn’t make a big enough one.

There’s really very little reason to struggle to come up with cash and then turn around and sell your car just because you’re underwater unless you are having a separate problem with the loan.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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