Amongst a slew of other contingency plans and programs, the newly launched $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan by President Joe Biden is all set to make its impact on healthcare providers in combating the effects of the global pandemic.

This is part of the President Biden’s American Rescue plan (ARP), aimed at curbing the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant economic crisis that has been caused in the U.S. The American Rescue Plan is primarily aimed to pump money into the U.S economy as well as support the other treatment and vaccination initiatives. The deaths from the COVID-19 virus have hit an all-time high, with the U.S being the worst-hit country in the world—the newly announced relief measures are designed to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

Healthcare Provisions in the COVID-19 Emergency Stimulus Plan

The COVID-19 Emergency Stimulus plan is primarily focused on combating the virus spread. However, the relief plan also significantly impacts the healthcare ecosystem in several other ways—including the newly announced coverage policies on account of the pandemic.

COVID-19 Health System Response

The American Hospital Association (AHA) reports that nine key provisions of the COVID-19 Emergency stimulus plan will influence the hospitals and health systems’ response to the global pandemic. Below are the key components listed out by the AHA.

Nine Key Provisions That Will Influence the Hospitals and Health Systems

1. Creation of a national vaccine program at the cost of $20 billion—to support the community vaccination centers
2. A $50 billion allocation to expand testing capabilities—specifically to support school reopening and to combat the virus in settings like prisons and long-term care facilitie
3. Funding of 100,000 public health workforce to accelerate the contract tracing and vaccination initiatives
4. Investment in community health centers and health services in tribal areas and financing that would support and expand care access for underserved populations, thereby minimizing health disparities
5. Resources and support for congregate settings including resources for federal, state, and local prisons, jails, and detention centers to deploy mitigation strategies like vaccinations and social distancing
6. Increase the Disaster Relief Fund by $30 billion to support the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other items like laboratory reagents and domestic manufacturing of these supplies
7. Additional investment in the development, manufacturing and purchase of COVID-19 treatments
8. Implementation of an occupational safety COVID-19 protection standard that helps the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) device the COVID-19 protection standard
9. Funding of 100,000 public health workforce to accelerate the contract tracing and vaccination initiatives

AHA specifically lauded the efforts to increase the funding that would scale up the vaccination distribution and administration, according to Rick Pollack, president and CEO of AHA

Health Coverage Provisions

Besides the health system’s response to COVID-19, the Emergency Stimulus Plan also includes components that would have implications on the healthcare plans and coverage for the consumers. The Commonwealth reports indicate that 43% of working-age adults do not have health coverage for various reasons, including—the coverage gap, high out-of-pocket expenses or deductibles. The Emergency Stimulus Plan is aimed to bridge the gaps in coverage by introducing various plans and measures like—increasing the value of and expanding the eligibility criteria, limiting the coverage costs at 8.5% or lesser of the consumers’ income for insurance coverage, etc.

To stay on top of the latest COVID-19 updates that impact the healthcare ecosystem, stay tuned to our blog section section updated twice every week!

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