Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Two-Year Boost To ACA Subsidies Added To Stimulus Package
Politico: Democrats Push Temporary Obamacare Expansion In Covid Bill
Pieces of the Covid-19 relief package House Democrats released Monday night include the first major expansion of Affordable Care Act subsidies in more than a decade — a key plank of President Joe Biden’s health care agenda that they hope to pass in the coming weeks. Democrats are hoping that the beefed up subsidies, combined with Biden’s recent executive order to reopen the ACA's markets and advertise heavily to entice people to enroll, will make a major dent in the ranks of uninsured Americans that have grown during the pandemic and ensuing economic recession. (Ollstein, 2/8)
The Hill: House Dems' COVID-19 Relief Bill Includes 2-Year Boost To ObamaCare Subsidies
House Democrats' coronavirus relief legislation released Monday would increase the Affordable Care Act's financial assistance for two years, providing greater help for enrollees' to afford their premiums. The measure, one provision in a sweeping COVID-19 relief package, would increase ObamaCare subsidies so that enrollees would have to pay no more than 8.5 percent of their income in health insurance premiums, down from a maximum cap of about 10 percent of income currently. (Sullivan, 2/8)
Poverty, children and racial inequities are also in the spotlight —
The New York Times: Minimum Wage Hike Would Help Poverty But Cost Jobs, C.B.O. Says
Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour — a proposal included in the package of relief measures being pushed by President Biden — would add $54 billion to the budget deficit over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office concluded on Monday. Normally, a prediction of increased debt might harm the plan’s political chances. But proponents of the wage hike seized on the forecast as evidence that the hotly contested proposal could survive a procedural challenge under the Senate’s arcane rules. (DeParle, 2/8)
The New York Times: Congress Pursues Child Tax Credit And Other Relief To Help Families
The early weeks of the Biden administration have brought a surge of support, in the White House and across party lines in Congress, for what could be the most ambitious effort in a generation to reduce child poverty. The plans vary in duration, design and the amount they would add to the federal debt, but they share a new and central premise in the policy debate over how to help the poor: that sending monthly payments through tax credits to parents, even if they do not earn income from work, is the best way to help feed, clothe and house children from low-income families. (Tankersley and Cochrane, 2/8)
Bloomberg: U.S. Child-Poverty Crisis Spurs Stepped-Up Efforts In Congress
Support is rising among policy makers to address America’s child-poverty crisis, which is getting worse as the pandemic drags on. More than 8 million Americans -- including many children -- fell into poverty during the second half of last year, exacerbating the racial and income inequalities that are holding back the U.S. economy. As lawmakers debate another round of stimulus, they are ramping up their calls to expand tax breaks for families with children and distribute aid monthly in an effort to help more of America’s most vulnerable citizens. (Saraiva and Davison, 2/9)
Politico: Democrats’ Plan To Lift Work Requirement Could Complicate Child Poverty Plan
Democrats’ bid to expand a popular tax break for children is stirring up ghosts of Clinton-era battles over welfare, which threatens to take the bipartisan sheen off their effort. Buried in their proposal is a plan to scrap decades-old rules pegging whether someone can take the credit, as well as how much they can receive, to how much they earn. Democrats want to expand the credit to as much as $3,600 per child, from the current $2,000, and allow the needy to claim the entire break regardless of how much they make. (Faler, 2/8)
The Hill: Black Maternal Health Omnibus Package Introduced By Democratic Lawmakers
A trio of Black lawmakers on Monday introduced an omnibus bill aimed at combating the significant health inequities that Black mothers face across the country. The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 follows a nearly identical legislative package that was introduced in the House in March right before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, though the new legislation includes three additional bills. (Johnson and Hellmann, 2/8)
In other legislative news —
The Hill: Ocasio-Cortez, Schumer Announce Federal COVID-19 Fund To Help Families Pay For Funerals
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Monday that funds will soon be available for families struggling to pay funeral costs after losing a loved one to COVID-19. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is operating the $2 billion dollar fund across the country, reimbursing families up to $7,000 for funeral expenses, the New York Democrats said. (Pitofsky, 2/8)
The Hill: Wyden To Wield New Power On Health Care, Taxes With Committee Gavel
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the new chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is poised to be a key player on some of the most hot-button issues over the next two years with Democratic control of both the White House and Congress. The Oregon Democrat last week took the reins of a committee that has jurisdiction over major components of the next coronavirus relief package, as well as other top priorities for Democrats. The panel oversees policy areas that impact a wide swath of the economy, including taxes, health care and trade. (Jagoda and Hellmann, 2/8)
