On March 27 the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act, was signed into law. The $2 trillion package is aimed at combating the economic damage from US coronavirus crisis. So how will this $2 trillion be spent?
The breakdown:
- Individuals – $603.7 billion includes cash payments, extra unemployment, student loans.
- Big Corporations – $500 billion includes loans and $58 billion to the Airline industry.
- Small Businesses – $377 billion includes loans.
- State & local governments – $339.8 billion includes COVID-19 response, education, family programs, and block grants.
- Public Services – $179.5 billion includes hospitals, veterans’ healthcare, SNAP, equipment, drug access, CDC, food banks, FDA, and other.
Here is a good overview from Visual Capitalist.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Department of Treasury have begun releasing the information that will guide the programs created through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Find more information on the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship website. There you can find a guide that will help you get started if you need:
- Capital to cover the cost of retaining employees? Then the Paycheck Protection Program might be right for you.
- A quick infusion of a smaller amount of cash to cover you right now? You might want to look into an Emergency Economic Injury Grant.
- To ease your fears about keeping up with payments on your current or potential SBA loan? The Small Business Debt Relief Program could help.
- Just some quality, free counseling to help you navigate this uncertain
Here are good resources for healthcare, health IT, and practices:
- HIMSS – Provisions for Healthcare and Health IT
- The American College of Cardiologist – Breakdown of Cares Act Financial Resources
- ATA – Key Telehealth Provisions
- Revele – Cash Resources to Prepare for the Healthcare Business Impacts of COVID-19
- Epstein Becker Green – Key Provisions for Health Care Providers
- Chapman and Cutler LLP – Notable Provisions for Health Care Businesses
And who will be keeping track of all this? Like the 2009 Recovery Act, this one mimics the accountability provisions to keep it all straight and transparent. Government Executive has done a great summary of these provisions. Along with an interesting comparison of money allocation, “the CARES Act is more than two and a half times larger than the 2009 Recovery Act. Its accountability provisions roughly parallel those in the 2009 Recovery Act with increased funding for existing IGs and the creation of a governmentwide, independent oversight body and a one-stop website providing spending transparency to the public.”
You remember 2009, when the Senate was outraged over the National Debt?