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Essentially, one commentator calculates that, with these changes, a family of four making $85,000 with $25,000 in health insurance coverage costs, will go from no federal support to a maximum payment for insurance of $7,000, or subsidies for such coverage will go from zero to $18,000. The American Rescue Plan provides various additional levels of support for all income levels, as shown in the table above.
2. Expands ACA cost-sharing support for the unemployed. The Senate legislation adds cost-sharing support for unemployed Americans enrolled in a qualified health plan. Currently, for those enrolled in such a plan who make between 100 and 400 percent of the FPL, the ACA mandates insurers reduce cost-sharing in phased amounts to make out-of-pocket expenses more affordable for lower-income Americans. The Senate legislation amends this provision for 2021 to deem that any person who received (or is approved to receive) unemployment compensation for any week during 2021 meets the req
In the early morning of Feb. 27, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, by a 219-212 vote. Two Democrats joined with a.
Health reform provisions in the Biden COVID response bill James C. Capretta | Feb 16, 2021
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President Biden’s top priorities are containing the COVID-19 pandemic and jump-starting the American economy, which is why his focus is on moving a fifth major response bill through Congress, this one with a price tag of $1.9 trillion. Because this legislation is near certain to become law, it has become a magnet for all manner of priorities, including those of a health-reform variety (which, their proponents will argue, are related to economic recovery). Democrats in Congress see this first bill of the Biden era as their best (and perhaps only) opportunity to implement portions of their agenda without the need to compromise with the GOP. The probable enactment through this process of consequential health reform-like measures (listed below based on the committees advancing them) will be significant for policy debates in the years ahead.
The Big Picture
Until late December, few if any Medicare policy changes were anticipated as part of a year-end healthcare package, barring extensions of funding for programs that otherwise would have expired. But after several days of closed-door negotiations, congressional leaders unveiled and very shortly thereafter Congress passed a legislative package containing an amalgam of Medicare policy changes.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act) includes significant payment adjustments, rural health improvements, transparency requirements for certain manufacturers of drugs covered under Medicare Part B, and fixes to long-standing coverage and benefits issues such as eliminating beneficiary cost-sharing for colorectal cancer screenings. None of these changes, taken individually, represent a monumental shift in administration of the Medicare program. But as a whole, they represent an important body of policies that address long-standing concerns.