House Moves Forward with Stimulus Bill

The House Ways and Means Commerce Committee voted 24-13 on Jan. 22 to approve its part of the stimulus package to provide tax, health and unemployment relief to families while also urging businesses to create new jobs. Three areas are of great interest to NAHU.

1) COBRA subsidization and expansion: The bill provides for $30.3 billion to subsidize COBRA premiums. Additionally, workers aged 55 or older who have at least 10 years employment with their last employer would be allowed to keep their COBRA until Medicare eligibility or until they get other coverage.

2) Medicaid expansion: The bill also provides $8.6 billion so states could receive 100 percent federal matching funds to provide optional state Medicaid coverage, through 2010, for certain individuals who are involuntarily unemployed.

3) Health information technology incentives: The House proposal also includes $20 billion in spending to encourage the adoption of health information technology, with payments to doctors of $40,000 to $65,000 who can demonstrate that they are meaningfully using electronic data, such as through the reporting of quality measures.

NAHU's Position: Nahu has serious concerns regarding the proposed extension of COBRA eligibility and the potential Medicaid expansion with no subsidies for any other coverage option except for COBRA. However, the proposed means to administer the subsidy through the employer (or their administrative designate) for COBRA administration is exactly as NAHU recommended.

Senate Democrats are working on their own version of a stimulus package with the overall goal of having a bill finalized for President Obama’s signature by mid-February. NAHU is working with key Senate offices on the COBRA provisions of concern as well as the Health IT privacy enforcement issues.