Senate lawmakers are expected to vote Thursday on a coronavirus relief measure that could affect the home care field in several ways.
Perhaps most notably, the so-called skinny bill would protect healthcare providers against liability lawsuits unless willful misconduct or gross negligence can be established.
Similarly, employers would not be liable unless claims met an employer-friendly test.
In addition, the pending legislation also would allow home care firms that qualify as small businesses to apply for additional loans through the Paycheck Protection Program.
Weekly unemployment benefits of $300 would continue through the week of Dec. 27. They would be retroactive to the end of July.
“Senators will not be voting on whether this targeted package satisfies every one of their legislative hopes and dreams,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Tuesday. “We vote on whether to make laws, whether to forge a compromise, whether to do a lot of good for the country and keep arguing over the remaining differences later.”
The new measure will likely offer about $500 billion in new assistance.
