The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), signed into law March 11, 2021, provides a 100% subsidy of premiums for employer-sponsored group health insurance continued under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA) and similar state continuation of coverage (mini-COBRA) programs. ARPA subsidies cover the total cost of COBRA or mini-COBRA premiums from April…
PPP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) The Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, intends to provide timely additional guidance to address borrower and lender questions concerning the implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including both First Draw PPP Loans and Second Draw PPP Loans. Appropriate agencies will update information…
Overview of the ARPA Provisions On President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) into law on March 11, 2021. Along with providing financial relief for individuals, state and local governments, schools, businesses, and for other purposes, the law contains the following measures of particular interest to employers and their employees:…
Understanding the $1.9 Trillion American Rescue Plan The $1.9 trillion relief bill, known as the American Rescue Plan, has been signed into law by President Joe Biden. Highlights of the bill include extended unemployment benefits, direct checks to individuals, and more. While Congress changed some of the ARP bill, it’s mainly similar to the House’s…
On Jan. 28, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new special enrollment period (SEP) due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic through Exchanges using the federal www.HealthCare.gov platform. States operating their Exchange platforms are strongly encouraged to make a similar SEP available in their states. Overview of the COVID-19 SEP Starting…
The U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) has issued two additional Q&As regarding employee leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).  Q&As 104 and 105 were issued on December 31, 2020. They address employees’ entitlement to FFCRA leave after December 31, 2020, and their right to payment for FFCRA leave taken before December…
The U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced that beginning Monday, January 11, applications would be accepted for the second round of loans in the SBA’s Payment Protection Program (PPP). This second round includes $284 billion in funding allocated for the PPP in the stimulus bill passed on December 27, 2020.…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has prepared a list of FAQs to educate the public on various aspects of COVID-19 vaccination. This article features some of these FAQs.  Vaccine Development  How many COVID-19 vaccines are under development?  Currently, two vaccines are authorized and recommended to prevent COVID-19:  Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine…