Congress takes up critical pandemic-related health care proposals

Several pandemic-related health care proposals were taken up in U.S. Congress this week.

The House Ways and Means Committee announced it will consider nine legislative proposals as the next step in delivering COVID-19 relief to Americans. The proposals include measures that improve health care affordability, protect the elderly, and combat the virus in nursing homes.

Meanwhile, a group of Senate Democrats reintroduced the “Worker Health Coverage Protection Act,” which would keep millions of unemployed or furloughed workers from losing their health insurance in the midst of the pandemic — allowing them to remain on their employer health plans at no cost via subsidized COBRA coverage. This would not impact workers’ eligibility for unemployment or other state and federal assistance, according to backers of the bill.

Related: How COBRA premium subsidies can protect employer-sponsored coverage

Estimates suggest the policy shift could support as many as 14 million Americans, and employers and federal agencies would be required to conduct new notice and outreach activities to ensure workers are aware of the credit availability.

“As a result of this public health and economic crisis, millions of American workers have been left unemployed and without access to their employer-sponsored health insurance. Now more than ever, it’s imperative that Congress takes action to ensure impacted families continue to have access to quality, affordable health care,” U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) one of the 13 senators who introduced the bill, said in a statement. “Our nation is experiencing a public health and financial emergency – keeping Americans covered must be a top congressional priority, and our legislation will help us do just that.”

“Our nation is struggling, the virus is still not contained, and the American people are counting on Congress to meet this moment with bold, immediate action,” added House Ways & Means Committee chairman Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.), who noted in a statement that the committee will “deliver substantial solutions.”

The Ways and Means Committee’s proposals comprise half of the $1.9 trillion Democratic COVID-19 relief package. Health care-related highlights include:

• Extending temporary federal unemployment and benefits through August 29, 2021.
• Reducing health care premiums for low- and middle-income families by increasing the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits for 2021 and 2022.
• Supporting the continuation of employer-based health coverage by subsidizing COBRA coverage through the end of the fiscal year.
• Creating health care subsidies for unemployed workers who are ineligible for COBRA.
• Providing skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) the tools and on-the-ground support needed to contain COVID-19 outbreaks.
• Providing states funding to deploy strike teams to SNFs to manage outbreaks when they do occur.
• Increasing public health and social services to combat abuse, neglect, and exploitation of the elderly, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic.

The House Ways & Means Committee has posted a complete breakdown of the proposals on its website.