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Stakeholders Cheer Passage of $1.9T COVID-Relief Package

Analysis  |  By John Commins  
   March 10, 2021

The legislation passed in the House Wednesday afternoon on 220-211 party-line vote, with no Republicans voting in favor.

Healthcare stakeholders are applauding the House passage of President Joseph R. Biden's sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-relief package.

The 591-page American Rescue Plan Act cleared the House on Wednesday afternoon on a 220-211 party-line vote, with no Republicans voting for it. Biden is expected to sign it this week.

The Rescue Act provides billions of dollars for state and local governments, Medicaid, providers, health insurers, and individuals, including stimulus checks of up to $1,400 for most Americans, extended unemployment benefits, increased subsidies for health insurance bought on the federal Marketplace, $8.5 billion in additional funding for rural healthcare, and an increased federal match for home- and community-based services.

Bruce Siegel, MD, president and CEO of America's Essential Hospitals, said he was grateful for the stimulus but offered caveats.

"While we welcome this support, we also stress that the fight against COVID-19 continues and that our hospitals need more," he said. "They face persistent financial and resource challenges, and we will continue to work with Congress to secure appropriate and timely support for essential hospitals in future legislation."

Federation of American Hospitals President and CEO Chip Kahn called the Rescue Act "a substantive step towards all Americans having the security of healthcare coverage."

"It makes ACA health coverage more affordable, ensures that the newly unemployed can retain their insurance through COBRA and offers new incentives for states to expand Medicaid to low-income adults," he said.

Kahn said the $8.5 billion earmarked for rural providers "will protect and support care for many of the nation's most vulnerable patients, especially those who live in rural, underserved communities."

"Meanwhile, funding for vaccine distribution and testing included in the legislation takes direct aim at COVID-19's grip on the nation," he said.

Jacqueline W. Fincher, MD, president of the American College of Physicians, said "the health-related provisions in this new COVID-relief law will help relieve that pressure on both patients and physicians."

"It substantially increases funding for vaccines, including money to promote education and vaccine confidence. It provides money to improve testing and contact tracing, allowing us to better detect and monitor the spread of COVID-19," Fincher said. "The bill will also require state Medicaid programs to fully cover COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, helping to better protect vulnerable populations who rely on Medicaid coverage."

Fincher said the extent of the Rescue Act will be felt beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, including provisions to subsidize COBRA coverage and tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans.

"It will increase funds sent to states to expand Medicaid and it will extend Medicaid coverage for post-partum women an important move in the effort to improve maternal mortality rates," she said.

"It provides funds to help improve access to healthcare coverage, critical in a time when so many have lost their health insurance."

Margaret A. Murray, CEO of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, said the relief act "will preserve crucial access to healthcare for working families."

"It gives states financial incentives to extend Medicaid to low-income, working adults, which includes many home health aides and others who work on the front lines," she said.  

Murray cheered a provision that will encourage states to provide women with one year of continuous coverage through Medicaid or CHIP after they deliver a baby.

"This policy will go a long way toward addressing the maternal mortality epidemic as well as health inequities," she said.

"It is also an important step toward full 12-month continuous eligibility for all people covered by Medicaid and CHIP, protections that ACAP has led the charge on for more than a decade. We hope that in the coming months even more people will benefit from continuous-eligibility provisions."  

“While we welcome this support, we also stress that the fight against COVID-19 continues and that our hospitals need more.”

John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.

Photo credit: Portland, OR, USA - Mar 8, 2021: Closeup of the documents of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package proposed by President Biden to speed up the recovery. Portland, OR, USA Tada Images / Shutterstock


KEY TAKEAWAYS

The 591-page American Rescue Plan Act cleared the House on Wednesday afternoon on a 220-211 party-line vote, with no Republicans voting for it. Biden is expected to sign it this week.

The Act provides billions of dollars for state and local governments, Medicaid, providers, health insurers, and individuals, including stimulus checks of up to $1,400 for most Americans.

It also extends unemployment benefits, increases subsidies for health insurance bought on the federal Marketplace, provides $8.5 billion in additional funding for rural healthcare, and increases the federal match for home- and community-based services.


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