今年7月美國新冠疫情公共衞生緊急狀態到期時，如果不再延期，醫療補助擴員計劃將隨之終止，那麼將有數百萬美國人因為不符合條件而失去醫保，對這部分人而言後果可能是毀滅性的。
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When the US federal government’s pandemic health emergency declaration expires, millions of Americans are at risk of losing healthcare coverage through Medicaid with potentially devastating consequences.
當美國聯邦政府的新冠疫情公共衞生緊急狀態到期時，數百萬美國人將面臨失去醫療補助計劃提供的醫保的風險，後果可能是毀滅性的。
According to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, an estimated 5.3 million to 14.2 million could lose their Medicaid coverage when the Covid-19 public health emergency ends on 15 July if it is not extended.
凱澤家庭基金會的分析顯示，新冠疫情公共衞生緊急狀態在7月15日到期時如果不再延期，據估計將有530萬至1420萬名美國人不再享受醫療補助計劃提供的醫保。
During the pandemic, the federal government required states to continuously enroll Medicaid recipients into the program, providing $100.4 bn in new funds to cover the costs of doing so, halting coverage gaps and loss of eligibility for those who rely on healthcare coverage through Medicaid.
在疫情期間，美國聯邦政府要求各州不斷吸收民眾參加醫療補助計劃，並提供1004億美元（約合人民幣6764億元）的資金來支付所需費用，通過醫療補助計劃來彌合醫保鴻溝，同時暫時保留那些不符合醫療補助條件者的醫保資格。
Medicaid enrollment is estimated to reach 110.2 million people by the end of fiscal year 2022, with enrollment expected to decline significantly when continuous enrollment ends.
據估計，醫療補助計劃將會在2022財年結束前覆蓋約1.1億人，當擴員計劃終止時參保人數將會顯著減少。
Federal government subsidies to make healthcare plans more affordable on the insurance marketplace are expected to end on 31 December 2022, making health insurance plans more expensive, possibly resulting in more Americans losing health insurance coverage because they can’t afford it.
此外，美國聯邦政府為保險市場上的健康險項目提供的補貼將於2022年12月31日終止，這將使健康險的保費變得更貴，從而可能導致更多美國人因無力支付而失去醫保。
Zachary Fusfeld of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a PhD candidate in epidemiology at Drexel University, is anticipating the loss of his Medicaid coverage when continuous enrollment ends, because his university stipend increase will put him over the income limit.
來自美國賓夕法尼亞州費城的扎卡里·富斯菲爾德是德雷塞爾大學流行病學的博士生，他在醫療補助擴員計劃終止時將會失去醫保，因為大學助學金的增加將會使他的支出超過收入上限。
A type one diabetic who suffers from other illnesses, Fusfeld said he will have to rely on his student healthcare and pay out of pocket for copays on medications, medical supplies, and doctor visits when his Medicaid coverage ends later this year, the costs of which are not affordable and not covered by his pay increase.
身為一個同時患有其他多種疾病的1型糖尿病患者，富斯菲爾德表示，今年晚些時候醫療補助計劃的醫保終止時，他只能完全依靠自己的學生醫保，開藥、購買醫療用品、就醫時都必須自掏腰包。這些費用是他增加的收入所無法覆蓋的，也不是他負擔得起的。
He recently required surgery on his ankle and is worried about affording the physical therapy he requires, though he noted there are many people who are facing the loss of Medicaid and don’t have any sort of supplemental insurance coverage as he does.
近期他的腳踝需要手術，因此他擔心他付不起自己所需的理療費用，不過他注意到有很多人也即將失去醫療補助，但卻不像他那樣有任何補充醫療保險。
Dylan Brown of New Jersey is disabled and relies on Medicaid for a home aide he requires around the clock to be able to get out of bed, dress and feed himself. He constantly worries about losing his Medicaid and Social Security disability insurance due to income and asset eligibility requirements and is very concerned about losing Medicaid when continuous enrollment ends.
美國新澤西州的迪倫·布朗是殘疾人，他靠着醫療補助計劃才能僱得起一個全天護理員，幫他起牀、穿衣、吃飯。他一直在擔心因為收入和資產不符合條件而失去醫療補助和社會安全殘障保險，他也很擔心在醫療補助擴員計劃終止時會失去醫保。
Without Medicaid, he would have to rely on his parents, who work full-time, to provide the care he needs and pay out of pocket for care to the extent his family could afford it. These options, Brown argued, aren’t feasible as he is planning to start law school this fall at Rutgers University, and his parents shouldn’t have to uproot their lives to help him function, which is the responsibility of Medicaid.
沒有了醫療補助計劃，他只能依靠他有全職工作的父母來提供他所需要的護理，並自掏腰包僱傭自己的家庭能負擔得起的護理員。布朗指出這些選項都不可行，因為他計劃今年秋季開始在羅格斯大學讀法學院，他的父母本不該為了幫助他正常生活而把自己的生活搞得天翻地覆，這應該是醫療補助計劃的責任。
"There shouldn’t be a cutoff date. There’s no reasonable argument for not giving disabled people the care they need to survive,” added Brown. “Regardless of what you’re feeling on whether people should have free healthcare, the disabled need it. There are no alternatives for us. It’s Medicaid or bust, and when the Medicaid rules are this convoluted and hard to keep track of, it almost feels like a full time job just keeping my benefits.”
布朗説：“醫療補助擴員計劃不應該有截止期。沒有理由不給殘疾人提供他們賴以生存的護理服務。不論你覺得人們是否應該享有免費醫保，殘疾人肯定是需要的。我們別無選擇。沒有醫療補助計劃我們就完蛋了，如果醫療補助計劃的規則如此晦澀又朝令夕改，想要保住這一福利簡直像幹一份全職工作一樣費勁。”