President Biden has pledged to bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst public health crisis America has faced in a century. Fortunately, the previous administration and America’s governors enacted groundbreaking reforms that offer Biden important lessons on how to effectively combat COVID-19 and increase access to more affordable healthcare in the long run.

When the pandemic arrived in the United States, hospitals struggled to supply enough beds and equipment and hire enough frontline healthcare workers to care for growing waves of infected patients. This strain on resources forced sick patients to wait longer for care and increased the risk of the virus spreading to other patients.