众议院民主党有一项新提议，旨在为因冠状病毒大流行而被解雇、休假或工时被削减的工人提供医疗保险援助。
该计划将覆盖100%的额外费用，最长15个月，这些额外费用与健康保险费相关，否则将由雇主支付。如果一个失业的工人选择根据统一综合预算协调法案(COBRA)继续他们的就业计划，联邦政府将从雇主停止的地方开始，补贴保险，确保保险费用不会增加。
民主党人表示，通过向员工提供机会和支付能力，让他们继续享受基于雇主的计划，尽管他们可能失业，但员工可以避免保险缺口，或者避免在大流行期间被迫改变计划或服务提供者。
教育和劳工委员会主席鲍比·斯科特在一份声明中说:“在公共卫生危机中，工人及其家庭保持获得负担得起的医疗保健至关重要。”。他和他的两位民主党同事——内华达州的史蒂文·霍斯福德和密歇根州的黛比·丁格尔——推动这项立法，称之为“工人健康保险保护法案”斯科特补充说，这“将通过确保工人和家庭不会在大流行期间失去健康保险，为他们提供即时救助”。
2019年10月15日，众议员鲍比·斯科特(弗吉尼亚州民主党)在华盛顿特区举行的新闻发布会上发言，讨论《大学可负担性法案》
上周，在经济学家发出警告称美国经济正走向大萧条时期的失业水平之际，失业申请人数和寻求失业救济的人数在三周内飙升至近1700万。
首次由Vox报道的COBRA医疗保险补贴提案，与2009年大衰退期间实施的想法相似。对于下岗工人来说，继续现有保险的费用可能会成倍增加。
詹妮弗·伯曼告诉记者:“雇主通常会补贴50%到80%的保险费用。”新闻周刊。她是一名员工福利律师，是MZQ咨询公司的首席执行官和凯利福利战略合规部的高级副总裁。
通常，雇主选择不继续补贴他们解雇的人的健康保险，迫使雇员支付他们计划的全部费用，或者转向个人市场。
然而，在冠状病毒中，伯曼说一些雇主在继续支付他们的健康保险福利的同时，也在给工人放假。但是，随着社会距离措施的拖延，以及该国大部分经济仍处于关闭状态，能够继续这种做法的企业将会减少。如果一家公司完全停业，就没有COBRA选项，因为商业和就业计划已经不存在了。
伯曼说:“关键是，这是一个异常复杂的系统，它与交易所和提供的未保险福利之间的相互作用让个人很难接受。”。
根据民主党的提议，从3月1日到公共卫生紧急事件发生后的6个月内，被解雇、休假或被削减工时的工人将有资格获得COBRA福利援助。
这个想法是为下一个刺激计划准备的，这个计划不会很快起草，更不用说通过了。尽管如此，包括总统在内的议员和特朗普政府已发出信号，表示愿意采取另一项大规模纾困措施，其中可能包括另一轮个人支票。
国会将至少在5月4日之前不开会，这使得立法的谈判和起草过程更加困难。共和党和民主党也依然存在在僵局中关于如何为小企业贷款补充资金的激烈提案预计将在本周结束前告罄。
LAID-OFF WORKERS WOULD GET HEALTH INSURANCE SUBSIDIES UNDER DEMOCRATS' NEW CORONAVIRUS STIMULUS PLAN
House Democrats have a new proposal that aims to offer health insurance assistance to workers who have been laid off, furloughed or had their hours slashed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The plan would cover 100 percent, for up to 15 months, the extra cost associated with health insurance premiums that would otherwise be covered by an employer. If a jobless worker chooses to remain on their employment plan under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA, the federal government would pick up where the employer left off and subsidize the insurance, ensuring that coverage costs would not increase.
Democrats said by offering workers the opportunity and affordability to remain on their employer-based plan, despite perhaps being out of work, the employees could avoid coverage gaps or avoid being forced to change plans or providers amid a pandemic.
"In the midst of a public health crisis, it is critical that workers and their families maintain access to affordable health care," Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said in a statement. He and two of his Democratic colleagues—Steven Horsford of Nevada and Debbie Dingell of Michigan—pushing for the legislation have dubbed it the "Worker Health Coverage Protection Act." It "would provide immediate relief to workers and families by making sure they do not lose their health insurance in the middle of a pandemic," Scott added.
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) speaks during a news conference discussing the College Affordability Act on October 15, 2019, in Washington, D.C.
Last week, the number of jobless claims and people seeking unemployment benefits skyrocketed to nearly 17 million over the course of a three-week period amid warnings from economists that the American economy is headed toward Depression-era level unemployment.
The proposed subsidies for COBRA health coverage, which were first reported by Vox, is a similar idea that was implemented during the Great Recession in 2009. For laid-off workers, the expense to continue their existing insurance could increase exponentially.
"Employers typically subsidize anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of the coverage's cost," Jennifer Berman told Newsweek. She's an employee benefits attorney who's CEO of MZQ Consulting and senior vice president of compliance for Kelly Benefit Strategies.
Typically, employers choose not to continue subsidizing a person's health insurance whom they've laid off, forcing the employee to pay the full cost of their plan or to transition to the individual marketplace.
Amid the coronavirus, however, Berman said some employers are furloughing workers while continuing to pay their health insurance benefits. But as social distancing measures drag on and much of the country's economy remains shuttered, fewer businesses will be able to continue the practice. And if a company goes out of business entirely, there's no COBRA option because the business and employment-plan no longer exist.
"The point is that this is an extraordinarily complex system, and how that interacts with the exchanges and uninsured benefits offered makes it really hard for individuals," Berman said.
Under the Democratic proposal, workers who have been terminated, furloughed or seen their hours cut from March 1 through six months after the public health emergency would qualify for the COBRA benefits assistance.
The idea is intended for the next stimulus package, which won't be drafted—much less passed—anytime soon. Still, lawmakers and the Trump administration, including the president, have signaled a willingness for another large relief measure, one that could potentially include another round of individual checks.
Congress will remain out of session until at least May 4, making the process of negotiating and drafting legislation all the more difficult. Republicans and Democrats also remain in the midst of a stalemate with dueling proposals on how to replenish funds for small business loans that are expected to run dry by the end of the week.
