Summary of the Key Health Care Provisions in H.R. 6800, the “Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act”

Division A – Appropriations 

Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Related Agencies (Excerpted for HHS programs only)

·      Health Resources and Services Administration – $7.6 billion to Community Health Centers to remain available through FY25, for necessary expenses to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus and for grants to Federally qualified health centers. In addition, $10 million to Ryan White HIV/AIDS clinics to support extended operational hours, increased staffing hours, additional equipment, and additional home delivered meals and transportation needs of patients. 

·      Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) – $2.1 billion to support federal, state, and local public health agencies to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus, including $2 billion for State, local, Territorial, and Tribal Public Health Departments and $130 million for public health data surveillance and analytics infrastructure modernization. 

·      National Institutes of Health (NIH) – $4.7 billion to expand COVID-19-related research on the NIH campus and at academic institutions across the country and to support biomedical research laboratories nationwide. 

·      Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response – $4.6 billion to respond to coronavirus, including $3.5 billion for Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for therapeutics and vaccines, $500 million to support U.S.-based next generation manufacturing facilities, $500 million to promote innovation in antibacterial research and development, and $75 million for the Office of Inspector General (OIG). 

·      Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (“Provider Relief Fund”) – $175 billion to reimburse for health care related expenses or lost revenue attributable to the coronavirus, as well as to support testing and contact tracing to effectively monitor and suppress COVID-19, including $100 billion in grants for hospital and health care providers to be reimbursed health care related expenses or lost revenue directly attributable to the public health emergency resulting from coronavirus, subject to a new, quarterly application process and a new eligibility calculus which, unlike earlier payments from the Provider Relief Fund, would distribute relief funds each quarter based on cost report information submitted by the provider. Eligible providers would be eligible for 60% of lost revenues compared to 2019 and they would receive 100% reimbursement for COVID-19 related costs including temporary construction costs, equipment and test acquisitions and workforce retention.  Funding could not be used for executive compensation, bonuses, stock or other financial rewards for officers or employees.  Balance billing for any COVID-19 treatment costs would be prohibited.  Additionally, $75 billion would be provided for testing, contact tracing, and other activities necessary to effectively monitor and suppress COVID-19.  

·      Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – $3 billion to increase mental health support, to support substance abuse treatment, and to offer increased outreach, including $1.5 billion for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant, $1 billion for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, $100 million for services to homeless individuals, $100 million for Project AWARE to identify students and connect them with mental health services, $10 million for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, $265 million for emergency response grants to address immediate behavioral health needs as a result of COVID-19, $25 million for the Suicide Lifeline and Disaster Distress Helpline, and at least $150 million for tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian health organizations, or health service providers to tribes. 

·      Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) – Nursing Strike Team – $150 million for States to establish and implement strike teams to deploy to skilled nursing facilities or nursing facilities within 72 hours of three residents or employees being diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19.

·      CMS – Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control – $25 million to support program integrity activities, including investigations and prosecutions of illegal or fraudulent activity affecting funds provided through Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. 

·      Administration for Community Living – $100 million to provide direct services such as home- delivered and prepackaged meals, and supportive services for seniors and disabled individuals, and their caregivers. 

·      HHS OIG – $75 million to provide necessary oversight and enforcement related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Division B – Health-Related Revenue Provisions 

Title II – Additional Relief for Workers 

Additional Relief

·      Sec. 20202. Above-the-line deduction allowed for certain expenses of first responders. Provides a $500 above-the-line deduction for unreimbursed expenses of professional first responders related to the cost of uniforms or tuition and fees related to training. This deduction is indexed to inflation. 

·      Sec. 20203. Temporary above-the-line deduction for supplies and equipment of first responders and COVID-19 front-line employees. Provides a $500 above-the-line deduction for 2020 for the uniforms, supplies, and equipment of first responders and COVID-19 front-line employees. COVID-19 front-line employees are those that perform at least 1,000 hours of essential work, as defined for pandemic premium pay reimbursable from the COVID-19 Heroes Fund. 

Credits for Paid Sick & Family Leave 

·      Sec. 20221. Extension of credits. Extends the refundable payroll tax credits for paid sick and family leave, enacted in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), through the end of 2021. This provision is effective as if it was included in FFCRA. 

·      Sec. 20222. Repeal of reduced rate of credit for certain leave. Coordinates changes made to the requirement to provide paid sick time to allow employers to claim up to $511 per day, rather than $200 per day for leave for caregivers of individuals subject to a coronavirus related stay at home order and parents providing for children affected by a coronavirus related school closure. This provision applies to days on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

·      Sec. 20223. Increase in limitations on credits for paid family leave. Coordinates changes made to the requirement to provide emergency paid family and medical leave to allow employers to claim up to $12,000 in refundable payroll tax credits, rather than $10,000. Allows individuals to claim the credit for a maximum of 60 days (corresponding to the $12,000 amount) rather than 50 days. This provision is effective as if it was included in the FFCRA. 

·      Sec. 20224. Election to use prior year net earnings from self-employment in determining average daily self-employment income. Allows individuals to elect to use their average daily self-employment income from 2019 rather than 2020 to compute the credit. This provision is effective as if included in FFCRA.

·      Sec. 20225. Federal, state, and local governments allowed tax credits for paid sick and paid family and medical leave. Removes the exclusion disallowing the paid sick and family leave credits enacted in the FFCRA for federal, state, and local governments. It makes conforming changes to the definition of qualified wages to align the credit with the intent that the credit covers the leave required by the respective mandates. This provision is effective as if included in FFCRA. 

·      Sec. 20227. Credits not allowed for certain large employers. Provides that, notwithstanding other changes in this Act requiring that employers with 500 or more employees provide required paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave, these employers are not eligible for payroll tax credits for these wages. This restriction does not apply to federal, state, and local governments. This provision applies to wages paid after the date of enactment. 

Division C – Health Provisions

Title I – Medicaid 

·      Section 30101. Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) increase. Increases FMAP payments to state Medicaid programs by 14% starting July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. 

·      Section 30102. Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR). Prevents the Secretary of HHS from finalizing the MFAR until the end of the public health emergency. This rule, if implemented, would establish new reporting requirements related to supplemental payments to Medicaid providers and upper payment limits (UPL) and would make changes to how supplemental payments and UPL arrangements can be made and are reviewed.

·      Section 30103. Home and Community Based Services (HCBS). Increases federal payments to state Medicaid programs by an additional 10% starting July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 to support activities that strengthen their HCBS benefit. 

·      Section 30104. No cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment. Eliminates Medicaid cost sharing for COVID-19 treatment and vaccines during the public health emergency. 

·      Section 30105. Covering the uninsured for COVID-19 treatment. Uninsured individuals covered through the new Medicaid eligibility pathway will be able to receive treatment for COVID-19 without cost-sharing during the public health emergency. 

·      Section 30106. Temporary extension of 100% FMAP to Indian health providers. Clarifies that services received through urban Indian providers are matched at 100 percent FMAP through June 30, 2021. 

·      Section 30107. Medicaid coverage for citizens of Freely-Associated States. Restores Medicaid eligibility to individuals who are residents of the freely-associated states. 

·      Section 30108. Increase Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments. Temporarily increases Medicaid DSH allotments by 2.5%. 

·      Section 30109. Extension of existing section 1115 demonstration projects. Authorizes states with section 1115 demonstration projects that expire on or before February 28, 2021 to extend them through December 31, 2021. 

·      Section 30110. Allowance for medical assistance under Medicaid for inmates during 30-day period preceding release. Provides Medicaid eligibility to incarcerated individuals 30 days prior to their release. 

·      Section 30111. Non-emergency medical transportation. Codifies the regulatory requirement that state Medicaid programs cover non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT).

Title II – Medicare

·      Sec. 30201. Waives Part A and B cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment during the pandemic.

·      Sec. 30202. Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Televistation. Requires SNFs to provide telephone and internet access (and information them that such technology is available) to allow residents to communicate with “external visitors. 

·      Section 30203. Medicare hospital IPPS expanded outlier payment for COVID-19 patients. Provides an outlier payment for inpatient claims for amounts over the IPPS payment to cover costs for costly COVID-19 patients until January 31, 2021 or the end of the pandemic, whichever is sooner.

·      Section 30204. Waives cost-sharing for Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees for COVID-19 treatment during the pandemic.

·      Section 30205. Waives Part D and MA-PD cost-sharing for drugs to treat COVID-19 during pandemic. 

·      Section 30206. Accelerated and Advance Payment Program Improvements. Lowers the interest rate for program loans to 1%, caps the per-claim recoupment at 25% of the claim, and extends repayment period to one-year before recoupment beings and at least two years before the loan is required to be paid in full. 

·      Section 30207. New Medicare special enrollment period (SEP). Creates a new SEP for eligible but unenrolled individuals living in an emergency area during the public health emergency. 

·      Section 30208. COVID-19 treatment facility payments. Provides money to SNFs that create COVID-19 treatment center facilities (or within the facility). Eligible SNFs must have staffing and health inspection ratings of 4 to 5 stars for at least two years and have not been found deficient on infection control, among other requirements. 

·      Section 30209. Nursing home strike teams. Provides funding to states to create strike teams to help facilities manage outbreaks in skilled and non-skilled nursing facilities. 

·      Section 30210. Infection control in nursing facilities. Requires Quality Improvement Organizations to provide COVID-19 infection control assistance SNFs.

·      Section 30211. Nursing facility reporting. Requires HHS to collect and report demographic data on COVID-19 cases in nursing facilities on the Nursing Home Compare website. 

·      Section 30212. Hospital Wage Index calculations. Creates a minimum area wage index (rural floor) for hospitals in states that do not have areas designated as “rural” (“all urban” states) for discharges beginning on October 1, 2021. 

Title III – Private Insurance 

·      Section 30301. SEP for Exchange Coverage. Provides for a two-month open enrollment period to allow uninsured individuals to enroll in an Exchange plan. 

·      Section 30302. Vaccine Recommendations. Requires the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to provide a recommendation on a COVID-19 vaccine not later than 15 days after its listed under the PHSA. 

·      Section 30303. Waives cost sharing for COVID-19-related treatment in the commercial marketduring the public health emergency. 

·      Section 30304. Prescription drug refill notifications. Requires commercial health plans to notify consumers if their plan permits advance prescription drug refills during the emergency period. 

·      Section 30305. Notifications after the loss of employer-based coverage. Requires group health plans to notify those who lost their coverage that coverage exists through the Exchange. 

·      Section 30306. Retroactive coverage of testing for COVID-19. Makes the requirement for free coverage of COVID-19 testing effective at beginning of the public health emergency. 

·      Section 30307. COBRA Subsidies. Provides full premium subsidies to allow COBRA-eligible individuals to maintain employer-sponsored coverage if they are eligible for COBRA due to a layoff or reduction in hours, and for workers who have been furloughed but are still active in their employer-sponsored plan through January 2021. 

Title IV – Other Health Provisions

·      Section 30401. Waives TRICARE cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment during the pandemic. 

·      Section 30402. Waives COVID-19 treatment cost-sharing in Department of Veterans Affairs health plans during the emergency. 

·      Section 30403. Waives FEHBP cost sharing for COVID-19 related treatment during the pandemic. 

Title V. Public Health

Supply Chain Improvements 

·      Section 30511. Medical Supplies Response Coordinator. Requires the President to appoint a Medical Supplies Response Coordinator that has health care training and an understanding of medical supply chain logistics. The appointee would serve as the point of contact for the health care system, supply chain officials, and states on medical supplies, including PPE medical devices, drugs, and vaccines. 

·      Section 30512. Information to be Included in List of Devices Determined to be in Shortage. Clarifies that the medical device identifier or national product code must be included with any required shortage reporting, which will help facilitate identification of acceptable alternatives. 

·      Section 30513. Device Shelf Life Dates. Provides authority to FDA to require manufacturers to provide the agency with information related to an extension of medical device shelf life dates in cases of shortages or material slowdowns during public health emergencies. 

·      Section 30514. Authority to Destroy Counterfeit Device. Extends FDA’s administrative destruction authority to medical devices. This would allow FDA to destroy certain imported medical devices, such as counterfeit tests or masks, in instances where FDA believes such medical devices are adulterated, misbranded, or unapproved and may pose a threat to the public health as they currently do for drugs. 

·      Section 30515. Reporting Requirement for Drug Manufacturers. Requires drug manufacturers to report foreign drug manufacturing sites and to report quarterly on the volume of drugs manufactured. 

·      Section 30516. Recommendations to Encourage Domestic Manufacturing of Critical Drugs. Requires National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to conduct a symposium of experts to discuss recommendations to encourage domestic manufacturing of critical drugs and devices of greatest priority to providing health care. 

·      Section 30517. Failure to Notify of a Permanent Discontinuance or an Interruption. Provides FDA with an enforcement mechanism to require timely notifications related to a permanent discontinuance or interruption in the manufacturing of certain drugs and the reasons for such discontinuance or interruption, as required under current law. 

·      Section 30518. Failure to Develop Risk Management Plan. Provides FDA with an enforcement mechanism to require drug manufacturers to develop a risk management plan, as required under current law. 

·      Section 30519. National Centers of Excellence in Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing. Directs FDA to designate National Centers of Excellence in Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (NCEs). NCEs will work with FDA and industry to craft a national framework for the implementation of continuous manufacturing of drugs, including supporting additional research and development of this technology, workforce development, standardization, and collaborating with manufacturers to support adoption of continuous manufacturing of drugs. 

·      Section 30520. Vaccine Manufacturing and Administration Capacity. Requires the Secretary of HHS to award contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and enter into other transactions, as appropriate, to expand and enhance manufacturing capacity of vaccines and vaccine candidates to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It also requires a report on the vaccine supply necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19, the manufacturing capacity to produce vaccines, activities conducted to enhance such capacity, and plans for continued support of vaccine manufacturing and administration.  

Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) Improvements 

·      Section 30531. Equipment Maintenance. Requires the Secretary of HHS to ensure that contents of the SNS are in good working order and, as necessary, conduct maintenance on contests of the stockpile. 

·      Section 30532. Supply Chain Flexibility Manufacturing Pilot. Improves the SNS domestic product availability by enhancing medical supply chain elasticity, improving the domestic production of PPE, and partnering with industry to refresh and replenish existing stocks of medical supplies. 

·      Section 30533. Reimbursable Transfers from SNS. Improves the SNS financial security by allowing the SNS to sell products to other Federal departments or agencies within six months of product expiration. 

·      Section 30534. SNS Action Reporting. Requires the SNS to report to Congress about every request made to the SNS during the COVID-19 public health emergency and details regarding the outcomes of every request. 

·      Section 30535. Improved, Transparent Processes for the SNS. Requires the SNS to develop improved, transparent processes for SNS requests and identify clear plans for future communication between the SNS and States.

·      Section 30536. Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on the Feasibility and Benefits of a SNS User Fee Agreement. Requires GAO to conduct a study to investigate the public sector procurement process for single source materials from the SNS. 

Testing and Testing Infrastructure Improvements 

·      Section 30541. COVID–19 Testing Strategy. Requires the Secretary of HHS to update the COVID-19 strategic testing plan required under the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act no later than June 15, 2020. The updated plan shall identify the types and levels of testing necessary to monitor and contribute to the control of COVID-19 and inform any reduction in social distancing. In addition, the updated strategic testing plan must include specific plans and benchmarks with clear timelines, regarding how to ensure sufficient availability and allocation of all testing materials and supplies, sufficient laboratory and personnel capacity, and specific guidelines to ensure adequate testing in vulnerable populations and populations at increased risk related to COVID-19, including older individuals, and rural and other underserved areas. This plan must also involve testing capacity in non-health care settings in order to help expand testing availability and make testing more accessible, as well as how to implement the testing strategy in a manner that will help to reduce disparities with respect to COVID-19. 

·      Section 30542. Centralized Testing Information Website. Requires the Secretary of HHS to establish and maintain a public, searchable website that lists all in vitro diagnostic and serological tests used in the United States to analyze critical specimens for detection of COVID- 19 or antibodies for the virus. The website will also list relevant information about the tests, including the sensitivity and specificity of the test and the numbers of tests available. 

·      Section 30543. Manufacturer Reporting of Test Distribution. Requires in vitro diagnostic test manufacturers to notify the Secretary of HHS with information regarding distribution of tests, including quantity distributed. 

·      Section 30544. State Testing Report. Requires States authorizing the development of in vitro COVID-19 tests to provide the Secretary of HHS with a weekly report identifying all authorized laboratories and providing relevant information about the laboratories, including their testing capacity, listing of all authorized tests, and providing relevant information about such tests. 

·      Section 30545. State Listing of Testing Sites. Requires States receiving funding through this Act to establish a public, searchable webpage identifying and providing contact information for COVID-19 testing sites within the State. 

·      Section 30546. Reporting of COVID–19 Testing Results. Requires every laboratory that performs or analyzes COVID-19 tests to submit daily reports to the Secretary of HHS. This information would then be required to be made available to the public in a searchable, electronic format. 

·      Section 30549. Pilot Program to Improve Laboratory Infrastructure. Authorizes grants to states and localities to improve, renovate, or modernize clinical laboratory infrastructure in order to help increase COVID-19 testing capacities. 

·      Section 30550. Core Public Health Infrastructure for State, Local, and Tribal Health Departments.Authorizes $6 billion for public health departments to expand workforce, improve laboratory systems, health information systems, disease surveillance, and contact tracing capacity to account for the unprecedented spread of COVID-19. 

·      Section 30551. Core Public Health Infrastructure and Activities for CDC. Authorizes $1 billion for CDC to expand and improve its core public health infrastructure and activities in order to address unmet and emerging public health needs.

COVID-19 National Testing and Contact Tracing (CONTACT) Initiative 

·      Section 30561. National System for COVID-19 Testing, Contact Tracing, Surveillance, Containment and Mitigation. Requires CDC to coordinate with State, local, tribal, and territorial health departments to establish and implement a national evidence-based system for testing, contact tracing, surveillance, containment and mitigation of COVID-19, including offering guidance on voluntary isolation and quarantine of positive COVID-19 cases. 

·      Section 30562. COVID-19 Testing, Contact Tracing, Surveillance, Containment, and Mitigation Grants. Requires CDC to award grants to State, local, tribal, and territorial health departments to carry out evidence-based systems for testing, contact tracing, surveillance, containment and mitigation of COVID-19. CDC shall provide a minimum level of funding for all State, local, tribal, and territorial health departments, and prioritize additional funding for areas with high number of cases of COVID-19, areas with a surge in cases of COVID-19, and those proposing to serve high numbers of low-income and uninsured populations, including underserved populations. Funding shall be used to leverage or modernize existing systems, identify specific strategies for testing in medically underserved populations, establish culturally competent and multilingual strategies for contact tracing, hire and compensate a locally-sourced workforce, and support individuals who have been infected with or exposed to COVID-19. 

·      Section 30565. Research and Development. Requires CDC, in collaboration with the NIH, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), FDA, and CMS to support research and development on efficient and effective testing, contact tracing, and surveillance strategies. 

Section 30566. Grants to the Local Workforce Development System and Community-based Organizations. Authorizes grants to support the recruitment, placement, and training of individuals in COVID-19 contact tracing and related positions, with a focus on recruiting from impacted local communities and building a culturally competent workforce. This section also provides for transitional assistance and support post-employment. 

Demographic Data and Supply Reporting Related to COVID–19 

·      Section 30571. COVID-19 Reporting Portal. Requires the Secretary of HHS, within 15 days, to establish and maintain an online portal for health entities to track and transmit data regarding their inventory and capacity related to COVID-19. This portal will enable hospitals and long- term care facilities to report their inventory related to PPE, medical supplies (like available ventilators and beds), and facility capacity (like number of needed doctors, nurses, and lab personnel). Facilities should be required to report these figures on a biweekly basis. 

·      Section 30572. Regular CDC Reporting on Demographic Data. Requires the Secretary of HHS, no later than 14 days following enactment, to update and make publicly available the report to Congress required by the Paycheck Protection and Health Care Enhancement Act on the collection of data on race, ethnicity, age, sex, and gender of individuals diagnosed with COVID- 19. The updated report must include how the Secretary will provide technical assistance to state, local, and territorial health departments to improve collection and reporting of demographic data, and requirements for the report to be updated every 30 days and to identify any barriers for such health departments in collecting such data. 

Title VI – Public Health Assistance 

Assistance to Providers and Health System 

·      Section 30612. Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program. Establishes a loan repayment program to enhance recruitment and retention of state, local, tribal, and territorial public health department workforce. 

·      Section 30613. Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes. Authorizes grants to expand the use of technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models to respond to COVID- 19. To be eligible for funding under this section, health entities must have experience providing services to rural, frontier, health professional shortage areas, medically underserved populations, or Indian Tribes. 

·      Section 30614. Additional Funding for Medical Reserve Corps. Authorizes additional funding for the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).

·      Section 30619. Emergency Mental Health and Substance Use Training and Technical Assistance Center. Establishes a technical assistance center at SAMHSA that will support public or nonprofit entities and public health professionals seeking to establish or expand access to mental health and substance use services associated with the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

Assistance for Individuals and Families

·      Section 30631. Reimbursement for Additional Health Services Relating to Coronavirus. Authorizes COVID-19 treatment to be reimbursed for uninsured individuals.

·      Section 30632. CDC COVID–19 Response Line. Requires CDC to maintain a toll-free telephone number to address public health questions related to COVID-19. 

·      Section 30633. Grants to Address Substance Use During COVID-19. Authorizes SAMHSA to award grants to support local, tribal, and state substance use efforts that need further assistance as a result of COVID-19. 

·      Section 30634. Grants to Support Increased Behavioral Health Needs Due to COVID-19. Authorizes SAMHSA to award grants to states, tribes, and community-based entities to enable such entities to increase capacity and support or enhance behavioral health services. 

Public Health Assistance to Tribes

·      Section 30641. Improving State, Local, and Tribal Public Health Security. Extends eligibility for the CDC’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) program to tribes. 

·      Section 30642. Provision of Items to Indian Programs and Facilities. Guarantees IHS and other tribal health organizations direct access to the SNS.

·      Section 30643. Ensure Parity for Urban Native Veterans. Allows the Urban Indian Health Organizations (UIHO) to bill VA for care provided to qualified urban native veterans. 

·      Section 30644. Ensure Coverage for Native Veterans. Clarifies VA coverage for Native Veterans who qualify for both VA benefits and IHS services.

Division L – Families, Workers, and Community Support Provisions 

Title I – Amendments to Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act and Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act 

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act Amendments 

·      Sec. 120102. Employee Eligibility and Employer Clarification. Temporarily suspends, until December 31, 2022, the current 1,250-hour eligibility requirement and reduces the tenure eligibility requirement from 12 months to 90 days under non-emergency Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This will ensure widespread unemployment and furloughs do not leave workers unable to qualify for FMLA benefits in the near future. Clarifies that public agencies are covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, regardless of the number of employees. 

·      Sec. 120103. Emergency Leave Extension. Extends the availability of Emergency Family and Medical Leave benefits from December 31, 2020 to December 31, 2021. 

·      Sec. 120104. Emergency Leave Definitions. Provides private sector and public sector employees who have been on the job for at least 30 calendar days with the right take up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid leave under the FMLA, regardless of the size of their employer base. In addition, Employees can take this leave to: (1) self-isolate because they were diagnosed with COVID-19, (2) obtain a medical diagnosis or to care for symptoms of COVID-19, (3) comply with a recommendation or order to self-isolate because physical presence at work would jeopardize the health of the employee, other employees, or a person in the employee’s household, (4) care for a family member who is self-isolating, (5) care for a child whose school has closed or child care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19, or (6) care for a family member who is an individual with a disability or a senior citizen whose place of care or direct care provider is unavailable. 

·      Sec. 120105. Regulatory Authorities. Removes the Secretary of Labor’s authority to issue regulations, authorized under Families First Coronavirus Response Act, to exempt employees of businesses with fewer than 50 employees, or to issue regulations to exempt health care providers and emergency responders from the right to paid leave. Any regulations that have been issued under that previous authority shall have no effect. 

·      Sec. 120106. Paid Leave. Provides that workers are provided with a full 12 weeks of paid emergency FMLA leave and such leave does not count towards an employee’s 12 weeks of non-emergency unpaid FMLA leave. This section also clarifies that only the employee can decide to take emergency FMLA leave concurrently with any other paid leave they have available. 

·      Sec. 120107. Wage Rate. Ensures employees will receive a benefit from their employers that will be no less than two-thirds of the employee’s usual pay, up to $200 a day, but no less than the applicable minimum wage in their area. 

·      Sec. 120108. Notice. Requires that employees provide their employers with notice as soon as is practicable. 

·      Sec. 120109. Intermittent Leave. Clarifies that employees can take leave intermittently or on a reduced work schedule, regardless of a previous agreement between an employer and employee. 

·      Sec. 120110. Certification. Allows employers to require requests for emergency leave to be supported by basic documentation, but not before five weeks after the employee has started the leave. 

·      Sec. 120111. Authority of the Director of the OMB to Exclude Certain Federal Employees. Eliminates the authority of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to exclude certain federal employees from paid leave. 

·      Sec. 120112. Technical Amendments. This section makes technical amendments. 

·      Sec. 120113. Amendments to the Families First Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act. Clarifies that employees who work under a multiemployer collective bargaining agreement and whose employers pay into a multiemployer plan are provided with leave. The section also eliminates provisions that allow employers of health care providers and emergency responders the ability to exclude their employees from emergency FMLA leave. Lastly, it eliminates provisions that restrict employees from exercising a private right of action against employers, with fewer than 50 employees. 

Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act Amendments 

·      Sec. 120115. Paid Sick Time Requirement.

-        Allows eligible employees to use paid sick leave for the uses allowed under the emergency FMLA.

-        For each 12-month period, entitles eligible full-time employees to two workweeks (80 hours) of emergency paid sick leave. For each 12-month period, eligible part-time employees are entitled to the hours of emergency paid sick leave that equals the typical number of hours that they work in a typical two-week period. 

-        Allows employees to receive emergency paid sick leave in addition to any existing employer-provided paid leave. 

-        Clarifies that employees can take leave intermittently or on a reduced work schedule, regardless of a previous agreement between an employer and employee. 

-        Allows employers to require requests for paid sick leave to be supported by basic documentation, but not before 7 days after the employee has returned to work. 

-        Requires employees to provide their employers with notice of need to take leave as soon as is practicable. 

-        Clarifies that full emergency paid sick leave is available to employees where they begin employment with a new employer. 

-        Requires employers to restore employees to their positions after returning from paid sick leave. 

·      Sec. 120116. Sunset. Extends the availability of emergency paid sick leave from December 31, 2020 to December 31, 2021. 

·      Sec. 120117. Definitions. Eliminates the large employer exemption and clarifies that nonprofit organizations are covered employers. This section ensures that full-time and part-time employees earn full wage replacement (up to $511 per day) for all emergency paid sick leave uses. 

·      Sec. 120118. Emergency Paid Sick Leave for Employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Transportation Security Administration for Purposes Relating to COVID- 19.  Ensures employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Transportation Security Administration are eligible for paid sick days. 

·      Sec. 120119. Authority of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to Exclude Certain Federal Employees. Eliminates the authority of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to exclude certain federal employees from paid sick leave. 

 ·      Sec. 120120. Regulatory Authorities. Eliminates the Secretary of Labor’s authority to issue regulations, provided under the FFCRA, to exempt certain employers with fewer than 50 employees, health care providers, and emergency responders from the emergency paid sick leave provisions. This section also eliminates the Secretary’s authority to issue regulations to align Divisions C (Emergency Family and Medical Leave Act), E (Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act) and G (Tax Credits for Paid Sick and Paid Family and Medical Leave) of the Family First Coronavirus Response Act. Any such regulations issued by the Department shall have no force and effect. 

Division M – Consumer Protection and Telecommunications Provisions 

Title I – Covid-19 Price Gouging Prevention

·      Section. 102. Prevention of Price Gouging. Prohibits the sale of consumer goods and services at unconscionably excessive prices. Goods and services include personal protective equipment, drugs, hand sanitizers, and health care services, among others. It also authorizes the Federal Trade Commission and State attorneys general to enforce the law and impose civil penalties on price gougers. No state laws would be preempted. 

Division Q – COVID–19 Heroes Fund Act of 2020 

Title I – Provisions Relating to State, Local, Tribal, And Private Sector 

·      Section 170101. Definitions. Defines key terms under Title I, including “essential work employers” and “essential work.” “Essential work” (1) is performed during the COVID–19 Public Health Emergency, (2) is not performed while teleworking, (3) involves regular interaction with others or items handled by others, and (4) is work in any of the 33 enumerated areas of work (e.g., health care, first responders, grocery stores, transportation, etc.). 

·      Section 170102. Pandemic premium pay for essential workers. Provides that employers that apply for and receive grants will pay essential workers an additional $13 per hour. Essential workers are eligible for up to $10,000 (“highly compensated” essential workers earning above $200,000, up to $5,000) for work performed from January 27, 2020 until 60 days after the last day of the COVID–19 Public Health Emergency. If an essential worker develops symptoms of COVID-19 and dies, the worker’s next of kin receives the remainder of the premium pay as a lump sum. 

·      Section 170104. COVID–19 Heroes Fund grants. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to award grants to essential work employers who choose to apply for grants for the purpose of providing premium pay to essential workers. Essential work employers are eligible for grants of $10,000 per essential worker ($5,000 for highly compensated essential workers) to cover the entire cost of premium pay, including employer payroll taxes for premium pay. Employer payroll taxes include the employer portion of Medicare Hospital Insurance tax (and the corresponding part of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) tier 1 tax), federal unemployment tax, and state and local employment taxes. Unused funds must be returned to the Treasury. 

·      Section 170105. Enforcement and outreach. Grants the Secretary of Labor authority to enforce payment requirements and to conduct outreach to employers. Failure to adhere to payment requirements are treated as violations of overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

·      Section 170106. Funding for the Department of the Treasury OIG. Appropriates $1 million to the Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury to conduct oversight. 

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