Dear Members,
We wanted to update you on the federal government’s plans to support the COVID-19 pandemic response and provide relief from the impact. The U.S. Senate voted yesterday to pass the House's
Phase 2 legislation to respond to the economic fallout from the pandemic. This bill will now be sent to President Trump to sign into law. The Senate did NOT make any further changes to the House version of the bill. The multi-billion-dollar economic aid package will provide new relief measures for American workers.
Here is what it includes:
- Requires private health plans to cover coronavirus testing at no cost, and allocates $1 billion for testing for uninsured Americans.
- Ensures employers with fewer than 500 employees and government employers offer two weeks of paid sick leave. The provision expires at the end of the year.
- Requires this same class of employers to provide up to 3 months of paid family and medical leave for people forced to quarantine due to the virus or care for children or family members because of the outbreak.
- Offers payroll tax credits for employers providing those leave benefits.
- Puts $1 billion into emergency state grants for providing unemployment insurance benefits. It includes $500 million for staffing and logistical costs for states, with an additional $500 million reserved for states that see a 10% increase in unemployment.
- Puts $500 million into food assistance for low-income pregnant women and mothers with young children, $400 million into local food banks and $250 million into a senior nutrition program.
- Suspends the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements for the duration of the crisis.
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is working with the Senate to fast-track Phase 3 coronavirus relief legislation. Reports on the Treasury's vision for what could be a $1 trillion package include:
- $500 billion in cash payments to individual Americans, with phaseouts above certain income limits and linked to income level and family size. Payments would be sent out in two equal amounts, beginning on April 6 and May 18.
- $300 billion in small business interruption loans.
- $50 billion in assistance to airlines through a secure lending facility.
- $150 billion for secured lending or loan guarantees to assist other critical sectors of the economy experiencing financial distress due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
As the Administration and Congress work on Phase 3, NAEMT is strongly advocating for direct relief for EMS. We are working with all national EMS organizations on this initiative.
You can help by sharing images depicting the value of EMS in the COVID-19 crisis. Please capture a photo of yourself in action or holding a simple sign and post it on social media using #COVID19EMS. Also, please send your photos to
media@naemt.org and we'll share them on our social media platforms. It is essential that we communicate visually with legislators, regulators and the general public to help them understand the critically important role we play in saving and sustaining lives. Help showcase the incredible importance of EMS in the response to this pandemic.
We will continue to keep you informed on all issues pertaining to your efforts to respond and contain this pandemic. We know that your tireless efforts are coming at a very high price to the wellbeing of you and your families. We will do everything in our power to support you.
Sincerely,
Matt Zavadsky, MS-HSA, NREMT
President, NAEMT