REGULATORY REVIEW
Coronavirus Federal Legislative Roundup A look back at Congress’s work on the first four COVID-19 bills BY STEVE SELDE
Since the threat of the coronavirus came into sharper relief earlier this year, the federal govern- ment has taken many
steps to support and provide regu- latory flexibility to ASCs and other healthcare providers and shore up other sectors of the economy. Over a two-month period from
March to April, Congress created, and the executive branch adminis- tered, new and expansive federal ini- tiatives, like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The First Bill: The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act In late February, the administra- tion organized the Coronavirus Task Force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, and sent a request for sup- plemental funding to
Congress.
The purpose of this funding request was to support vaccine and testing development and provide funding to respond to the virus. This was a starting gun on the executive and leg- islative branches’ work and negotia- tions on legislation to provide relief and support in response to the coro- navirus’s effects.
In the first week of March, the House of Representatives moved first, passing H.R. 6074, the Coro- navirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act. The Senate quickly followed, pass- ing the bill one day later, with Pres- ident Donald Trump signing it into law on March 6. The scope of this first volley from the federal govern- ment was narrow, with an emphasis on getting initial funding for test- ing and vaccine development. It authorized $8.3 billion for response
efforts, including $3 billion for the research and development of vac- cines, more than $2 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention and state agencies, and addi- tional funding for the National Insti- tutes of Health and US Food & Drug Administration. Additionally, certain telehealth requirements were waived so that Medicare beneficiaries could receive telehealth at home. During this period, it was still
business as usual in Washington, DC. Legislation on a range of issues was still being considered, with the House and Senate passing a total of 30 bills during the first week of March. Com- mittees in Congress were still hold- ing hearings, with more and more focusing on the coronavirus.
The Second Bill: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act By mid-March, the nation was in the full throes of the virus. Forecasts of the virus’s effects were varied and uncertain. ASCA took a proactive
step in working with the administra- tion to explore new and unique ways that ASCs might be able to serve their communities if hospitals were overrun or health care resources were extremely limited. Work on the second phase of the federal govern- ment’s response, which had started immediately after passage of the first bill, was finalized with the Pres- ident’s signing of H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, on March 18.
This second bill touched on differ- ent areas than the first bill in an effort to provide stability to the anticipated effects on the American workforce. It expanded federal nutrition assis- tance programs and unemployment insurance and created family and medical leave programs. The fam- ily and medical leave requirements, funded by the federal government, and accommodations in that program for smaller employers and healthcare workers, were particularly relevant to the business administration side of ASCs. The bill also removed a bar-
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