What to Know Now

On the morning of Saturday, March 14, the House of Representatives passed HR 6201 to provide relief for families impacted by COVID-19, and the Senate is expected to take up the legislation as early as Monday, March 16. Here’s what you need to know now:

• The bill includes mandatory employer-provided emergency sick pay and emergency paid family leave for employers with fewer than 500 employees.
• A credit will be provided to employers to reimburse 100% of the qualified sick leave wages as a credit against Employer Social Security Tax.
• The bill will be effective within 15 days of the President’s signature, on a date determined by the Secretary of Treasury and does not currently contain any retroactive applicability.
• The emergency sick pay and family leave requirements expire on 12/31/2020.
• This bill is likely to have additional updates as it goes through Senate.

Next Steps: No Action Needed at This Time

Washington Health Insurance Agency, Inc’s top priority is ensuring our clients have access not only to their benefit plans but also to us as their Account Managers. Our agency is committed to assisting with any claims, customer service, or billing issues as well as providing benefit clarification and health insurance updates as we receive them.
We know you share our concern about COVID-19 and are aware updates are being made almost hourly.

The biggest question posed as of today was centered around the mandatory business closures, reduction to employee’s hours and how it impacts employee eligibility and your group’s health insurance plan.

The carriers are meeting this week to discuss the best course of action for our business owners as well as employees and are going to update us once policies are in place. Once we have a clear directive we will reach out.

In the interim, please don’t hesitate to contact our office with any questions or concerns.