New Stimulus Bill Increases ObamaCare Subsidies, Ends Subsidy Cliff, and More

A new stimulus bill being proposed would fully subsidize coverage up to 150% of the poverty level, would end the subsidy cliff for people who make over 400% FPL, and more.

The bill, to be proposed by the Ways and Means’ Committee, also caps premium costs at 8.5% instead of 9.5% (meaning more tax credits for some of those who qualify for them) and it expands full subsidization to those on unemployment.

Beyond those health insurance-related provisions, there are also healthcare provisions and also things like direct assistance ($1,400 more in individual stimulus for example).

The hope is that this alongside expanded enrollment this year, will help get more people covered with affordable coverage. With that said, many of these changes would last into next year as well.

Ways and Means’ still have to mark up the bill and then it would have to be passed, but as it stands this aspect of COVID relief stands to make some much-needed improvements to ObamaCare along the lines of what Biden promised for BidenCare.

We will keep you updated if and when changes are made and the bill becomes law.

Here is a list of major things the bill does in its current form (for details on just the healthcare aspects as reported above, you can see the full text of the bill):

Key Ways & Means Measures:

Additional direct assistance:

• Giving working families an additional direct payment of $1,400 per person—bringing their total relief to $2,000 per person.

Critical supports for unemployed workers:

• Extends temporary federal unemployment and benefits through August 29, 2021.
• Increases the weekly benefit from $300 to $400.

Fairness in the tax code for families and workers:

• Makes historic expansions to tax credits targeted at workers and families:
  • Enhances the Earned Income Tax Credit for workers without children by nearly tripling the maximum credit and extending eligibility.
    • This would be the largest expansion to EITC since 2009.
  • Expands the Child Tax Credit to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for children under 6), and makes it fully refundable and advanceable.
  • Helps families access high-quality child care by expanding the Child and Dependent Tax Credit (CDCTC) to allow families to claim up to half of their child care expenses.

Supporting health coverage and improving health care affordability:

• Reduces health care premiums for low- and middle-income families by increasing the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) premium tax credits for 2021 and 2022.
• Supports the continuation of employer-based health coverage by subsidizing COBRA coverage through the end of the fiscal year.
• Creates health care subsidies for unemployed workers who are ineligible for COBRA.

Protecting the elderly and crushing the virus in nursing homes:

• Provides skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) the tools and on-the-ground support they need to contain COVID-19 outbreaks and gives states funding to deploy strike teams to SNFs to manage outbreaks when they do occur.
• Increases public health and social services to combat abuse, neglect, and exploitation of the elderly that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emergency assistance for vulnerable children, families, and workers:

• Uses existing pathways to get resources to people in need quickly, including those who may not be receiving other assistance provided during the pandemic
  • This aid would help ensure that pregnant women, children, and struggling families can maintain access to the essentials during the emergency, like housing, diapers, internet service, soap, and food.

Strengthened retirement security:

• Stabilizes the pensions for more than 1 million Americans, often frontline workers, who participate in multiemployer plans that are rapidly approaching insolvency.
• Without action, the multiemployer pension system could collapse entirely, leaving retirees in poverty, businesses in bankruptcy and communities in crisis.