Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With Jobless Benefits Set To Expire, Congress Tackles More Pandemic Aid
Congress returns to work Monday with just weeks to craft new agreements on aid to households and protections for businesses, urged on by signs of a faltering economic recovery, a resurgent coronavirus pandemic and a looming deadline for enhanced unemployment payments. Some early areas of potential compromise have emerged on pulling together what would be the fifth coronavirus package since the beginning of the year. Both parties appear eager to pass another bill. (Duehren, 7/19)
Some 25 million Americans are set to lose $600 a week each in federal unemployment benefits at the end of the month, one of the thorniest issues Congress faces when it returns to Washington this week to consider another coronavirus relief bill. Many people view the payments as a lifeline, and analysts say the $15 billion a week in federal spending has provided vital support to an economy staggering from the effects of the pandemic. But critics say the money, paid on top of regular state jobless benefits, discourages some Americans from returning to work as businesses try to reopen, holding back the recovery. (Morath and Chen, 7/19)
The U.S. is facing significant long-term economic damage from the coronavirus as lawmakers spar over boosted unemployment benefits amid stubbornly high weekly jobless claims. More than 1 million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits each week for the past four months. Those figures provide a grim backdrop to the fight unfolding in Washington over whether to extend enhanced unemployment insurance for millions of job-seekers. (Lane, 7/19)
National service organizations are pressing Congress to expand AmeriCorps and similar programs in the next coronavirus relief package to employ hundreds of thousands of young people to help rebuild communities devastated by the pandemic. The plan has echoes of Depression-era work programs that employed Americans to address national needs in a time of crisis. (Allen, 7/19)
In other economic news
Kaiser Health News: Administration Eases Rules To Give Laid-Off Workers More Time To Sign Up For COBRA
People whove been laid off or furloughed from their jobs now have significantly more time to decide whether to hang on to their employer-sponsored health insurance, according to a recent federal rule. Under the federal law known as COBRA, people who lose their job-based coverage because of a layoff or a reduction in their hours generally have 60 days to decide whether to continue their health insurance. But under the new rule, that clock doesnt start ticking until the end of the COVID-19 outbreak period, which started March 1 and continues for 60 days after the COVID-19 national emergency ends. That end date hasnt been determined yet. (Andrews, 7/20)
More than six million people enrolled in food stamps in the first three months of the coronavirus pandemic, an unprecedented expansion that is likely to continue as more jobless people deplete their savings and billions in unemployment aid expires this month. From February to May, the program grew by 17 percent, about three times faster than in any previous three months, according to state data collected by The New York Times. Its rapid expansion is a testament to both the hardship imposed by the pandemic and the importance of a program that until recently drew conservative attack. (DeParle, 7/19)
The safety net is starting to unravel. At the end of the month, struggling Americans could lose the extra $600 per week theyve been receiving in unemployment insurance. Some eviction protections are already expiring. And as people scramble to afford basic needs, hunger looms. Yet there is a program that may be able to help millions of struggling Americans: food stamps, or as they are known in most places now, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. (Lieber, 7/17)
