Congress passed a bipartisan $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill after intense negotiations over its final details. $600 direct payment checks for every adult and child earning up to $75,000. Individuals earning between $75,000 and $99,000 would get smaller checks, and the benefit cuts out entirely for individuals earning over $99,000.
Wire Reports
Spending Package Addresses ‘Surprise’ Medical Billing
The legislation will protect patients from being billed in situations such as going to the emergency room and getting care from a physician who is out of network or not covered by the patient’s insurance plan. Consumers have received bills for thousands of dollars when they receive emergency care in an out-of-network facility.
President-elect Joe Biden’s first Cabinet picks are coming Tuesday and several names and clues are being leaked. But one popular candidate to lead the Treasury Department might be staying at the Federal Reserve, according to a tweet Monday afternoon.
Penalty Or Tax? ACA Fate Rests On Supreme Court’s Distinction
Some possible outcomes as the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act goes before the Supreme Court once again.
A Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll found nine in 10 Democrats (89%) and two-thirds of independents (66%) also said they do not want to see the Supreme Court overturn the Affordable Care Act while three-fourths of Republicans (76%) said they would like to see the entire law overturned.
Advisors are spending less time meeting with clients face to face, but advisors also are helping clients with COVID-19 concerns,…
Consumers postponed nonessential health procedures during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and that led to unusually high second-quarter earnings for publicly…
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Obamacare Case Until After Election
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a Trump administration-backed lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care Act one week after Election Day. The case against the ACA is led by Texas and a group of Republican-led states. California and a group of Democratic-led states are defending the law.
Only one in five of the 143 largest statewide public retirement systems in the U.S. are resilient, a new analysis published by the bipartisan nonprofit Equable Institute shows. And five states California, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas account for more than 50 percent of unfunded liabilities.
Only A Can-Do Attitude Will Beat Covid-19: Column
It seems like we’ve been living with the coronavirus pandemic in a slow-motion time warp. But it’s time we snap out of it and beat this plague with the can-do attitude that has characterized Americans’ character when faced with other seemingly insurmountable crises.
Florida Democrats Blast Trump Payroll Tax Pledge
A Quinnipiac University poll of Florida voters released last month showed Biden leading Trump by three points, 49% to 46%, among older voters. The poll said 80% of people over the age of 65 were paying “a lot” of attention to the presidential race.
White House, Democrats Spar Over Trump Coronavirus Aid Orders
The White House and top Democratic lawmakers sparred Sunday over President Donald Trump’ s executive orders to extend expired benefits to tens of millions of American workers left unemployed by the coronavirus pandemic and defer payroll taxes for many workers.
Stimulus: Lawmakers Hope To Reach Deal With $1,200 Payments
Top Democrats emerged from a 90-minute meeting with Trump administration officials to declare more progress on reaching common ground in an aid package expected to include a second round of $1,200 direct payments. Another glimmer of hope emerged as a key Senate Republican suggested the party may yield to Democrats on an increase in the food stamp benefit.
US Might Be Facing Extended Economic Depression: Opinion
As the US entered August, the economic damage from the necessary social distancing and closure protocols to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease began to hit. The US economy is suffering an even bigger shock than after the 9/ 11 terror attacks or the 2008 financial crisis.
U.S. Study Reveals Gaps In Chronic Care Needs And Experiences
New research has shed light on a longstanding healthcare system challenge that affects more than 1 in 3 Americans: Health outcomes are not improving for those with complex, chronic health concerns, even though they see their doctor frequently and take multiple medications.
Biden Wants The Fed To Help Close Racial Economic Gaps
This week, the Biden campaign released its fourth and final plank in the former Vice President’s package of economic ideas: a plan for racial economic equity. But contained in the plan was a less-flashy proposal: asking the Federal Reserve to explicitly take race into account when it sets policy.
Don’t Kill Obamacare, Dems Say In Court Brief
House Democrats said the Affordable Care Act will be just fine without the individual mandate. That was one contention made in a Supreme Court brief filed to support the Affordable Care Act against a lawsuit, backed by the Trump administration, that would overturn the 2010 law.
President Donald Trump signed four executive orders Friday aimed at lowering prescription drug prices for consumers, including allowing the importation of drugs from other nations.
US Appeals Court Upholds Reg BI
The court’s decision means that Reg BI, which which establishes a new advice standard for brokers, can take effect as planned on Tuesday.
House Democrats Introduce Bill To Expand ACA
The measure includes Democratic priorities such as expanding the ACA’s subsidies to make premiums more affordable and encouraging states to expand Medicaid by increasing federal Medicaid funding. It also would do away with Trump administration policies such as expanding the availability of short-term plans that compete with ACA coverage.
