From the Pennsylvania Capital-Star (https://www.penncapital-star.com/):
A new report has highlighted an inconsistency in federal assistance to states fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, with states with smaller populations and a smaller caseload receiving more assistance, per-capita, than states with larger populations and a larger caseload.
In mid-April, Pennsylvania had the nation’s eighth-highest COVID-19 per-capita infection rate and the 6th highest number of cases.
But thanks to a vagary in the federal funding formula, the commonwealth nonetheless lagged the rest of the country in federal assistance in fighting the illness, according to a new analysis by the financial literacy site 24/7 Wall St.
All told, Pennsylvania received $4.96 billion out of the $2 trillion aid federal CARES Act relief package, the 5th highest tally nationwide. As of mid-April, Pennsylvania had received $178,984 per-confirmed COVID-19 case in CARES Act money. That’s the 7th lowest share of federal CARES Act funding per-case, the analysis found.
At the time, Pennsylvania had 27,735 confirmed cases and 707 confirmed fatalities.
As the analysis notes, $150 billion in CARES Act funding was specifically earmarked for state, local and tribal governments and territories.
Funding was allocated using a population-based formula that provided approximately $450 for each state resident, the analysis found, with each state receiving at least $1.25 billion in relief. But because of that model, states with fewer than 4 million residents (Pennsylvania has 12.86 million residents) “are entitled to much higher amounts of funding per capita,” the analysis found.
Wyoming, which had 50 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents at the time of the analysis, was set to receive more than 120 times more funding than New York, which was then an epicenter of the outbreak, the analysis found.
Here’s a look, by the numbers, of the situation in Pennsylvania, according to the analysis:
Pennsylvania
Federal funding: $178,984 per confirmed COVID-19 case (7th lowest)
Total federal funding: $4.96 billion (5th highest)
COVID-19 impact: 27,735 cases (6th highest), 707 deaths
COVID-19 infection rate: 216.6 cases per 100,000 residents (8th highest)
Total population: 12.80 million (5th largest)
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