This week, Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans unveiled their embarrassing proposal to address the worsening coronavirus pandemic, which fails to address the health care needs of Americans during this pandemic. In comparison, the Heroes Act passed by the House over two months ago provides $75 billion in funding for testing and contact tracing, free coronavirus treatment without cost-sharing, the opening of a special enrollment period for the uninsured to gain coverage through the ACA marketplace and increases in federal funds to support state Medicaid programs.
See a side-by-side comparison of key health care and economic provisions in the Heroes Act and the Senate GOP proposal below:
| Health Care Provisions | Heroes Act | Senate Republican Proposal |
| Funding for Testing & Contact Tracing | Provides $75 billion in grants to state, local, Tribal, and territorial health departments to support testing, contact tracing, and isolation | $16 billion, down from $25 billion in previous iterations of the GOP bill |
| Guarantees Coverage Of Coronavirus Treatment Without Cost-Sharing? | Yes | No |
| Provisions to Expand Health Care Coverage? |
|
No |
| Economic Provisions | Heroes Act | Senate Republican Proposal |
| State/Local (Incl. Education Funding) | Provides nearly $1 trillion to state, local, territorial and tribal governments to pay vital workers like first responders, health workers, and teachers
*Senate Democrats also introduced a $430 billion relief bill to address child care and education |
|
| Direct Payments | $1,200 per family member | $1,200 for adults, plus $500 per dependent |
| Essential Workers |
|
Includes liability protections for corporations, including a five-year ban from coronavirus-related lawsuits unless the business engaged in “gross negligence” or intentional misconduct” |
| Unemployed Workers | Extends weekly $600 federal unemployment payments through next January | Cuts weekly federal unemployment to $200 per week, which translates to a decrease of $1,600 per month for millions of Americans |
| Small Businesses | Strengthens the Payroll Protection Program to ensure that it reaches underserved communities by providing $10 billion for Covid-19 emergency grants through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program | Provides a second round of PPP loans for businesses under 300 workers, as long as they can demonstrate 50 percent lost revenue compared with a reference period |
| Additional Support |
|
Includes $1.75 billion to rebuild the FBI headquarters to help protect President Trump’s real estate profits |