| 2009 Economic Stimulus Bill Passed
On Wednesday, February 11, House and Senate negotiators reached agreement on a
$787 billion economic stimulus package. This legislation contains additional funding for many federal health and education programs. It is important to note that this is supplemental funding that will temporarily bolster currently available resources for
federal agencies, but not increase their annual baseline budgets. Friday afternoon, on Feb. 13, the House passed the stimulus measure and the Senate followed suit
over the weekend, thus sending the legislation to the president for final approval.
Of interest to the Scleroderma Foundation, the economic stimulus package includes:
National Institutes of Health
- $10 billion is provided for the Nalional Institutes of Health.
- $8.2 billion is provided for the Office of the Director to be distributed for
research grants.
- $1.3 billion is provided for the National Center for Research Resources to
support renovation and construction of university laboratory facilities and
capitol research equipment.
- $500 million is provided for intramural buildings and facilities
construction on the NIH campus.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- $1.1 billion is provided for comparative effectiveness research.
Health Information Technology
- Provides $19 billion to accelerate adoption of Health Infonnation Technology systems by doctors and hospitals, in order to modernize the health care system, save billions of dollars, reduce medical errors and improve quality.
Medicaid
- $87 billion over the next two years to help states maintain their Medicaid programs in the face of state budget shortfalls.
COBRA
- Premium Subsidies for COBRA Continuation Coverage for Unemployed Workers. Recession-related job loss threatens health coverage for many families, To help people maintain coverage, the bill provides a 65% subsidy for COBRA continuation premiums for up to 9 months for workers who have been involuntarily terminated, and for their families. This subsidy also applies to health care continuation coverage if required by states for small employers. With COBRA premiums averaging more than $1000 a month, this assistance is vitally important. To qualify for premium assistance, a worker must be involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. The subsidy would terminate upon offer of any new employer-sponsored health care coverage or Medicare eligibility. Workers who were involuntarily tenninated between September 1, 2008 and enactment, but failed to initially elect COBRA because it was unaffordable, would be given an additional 60 days to elect COBRA and receive the subsidy. To ensure that this assistance is targeted at workers who are most in need, participants must attest that their same year income will not exceed $125,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families. The Joint Commiltee on Taxation estimates that this provision would help 7 million people maintain their health insurance by providing a vital bridge for workers who have been forced out of their jobs in this recession. This
provision is estimated to cost $ 24.7 billion.
You can read the final bill at the Library of Congress Thomas website. |
