ARPA Covid Stimulus March 2021
Silver 94 – ZERO Premium!

If you received unemployment benefits anytime in 2021, report this to us or Covered California.  Starting in the Summer of 2021, Covered CA  will redetermine your eligibility. If eligible, you will receive the same benefits as someone with 138.1% FPL – Enhanced Silver 94 ^{Blue Shield} * ^{Covered CA Income Chart} * ^{Covered CA Broker Seminar 4.20.2021} * ^{Section 9661 Part 7 Premium Tax Credit}

VIDEO explanation of how the ARPA Silver 94 will work…

Increase Financial Help for Consumers Who Receive Unemployment Compensation During 2021

For households in which the primary tax filer or their spouse receives or is approved to receive unemployment insurance benefits (UIB) for one (1) or more week in 2021, the FPL for the purposes of eligibility determinations for APTC Advanced Premium Tax Credit – Subsidies and Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSR) Enhanced Silver would be locked at 138.1% FPL.  View FPL Income Chart

Effectively, that means that—for any tax household in which the primary tax filer or their spouse received UIB for 1 week or more during 2021—any household income above 138.1% of FPL is disregarded for the purposes of financial help eligibility calculations. The FPL lock will apply to the APTC & CSR determination for all members of the tax household that are not otherwise determined eligible for Medi-Cal or CHIP programs and meet all other APTC program requirements.  ^{Covered CA FAQ for Brokers} *

See Kaiser Foundation Calculation Results  Their calculator asks if you received unemployment, while ours nor Covered CA does so yet. 

Watch Covered CA ARPA Announcement  VIDEO

modernhealthcare.com/biden-backs-aca-expansion-next-relief-package-no-drug-pricing-reform 

whitehouse.gov/fact-sheet-the-american-families-plan  

Get Quotes

Unemployment Benefits under CARES Act –
#Stimulus Package

 

The bill makes unemployment pay 100 percent of what people would earn on the job and, in some circumstances, they can get more money for not returning to work when the economy is back up.  Quirk in law would allow some employees to earn more $$$ for working less – read more in the LA Times.

Consider $600 a week is the pay before taxes for an employee who works 40 hours a week at $15 an hour, or 30 hours a week at $20 an hour. So not working will pay that person the $600 federal benefit on top of the regular benefit that CA provides.  So it is $600 a week if you work, and $900 a week if you do not. For the minimum wage person who makes $400 a week, the effect is more extreme. The unemployment program will pay more than twice as much as working. Benefits do max out at different levels in different states but, in most, even an employee who makes $800 a week can make about $200 more on this unemployment than working. * ^{The Hill} *

Under the CARES Act, employees may delay going back to work, businesses could feel more comfortable laying off people, and workers may be incentivized to quit their jobs or volunteer to be laid off

Unemployment benefits also aren’t subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes (7.65% total) and in many states aren’t subject to state and local tax — meaning unemployment pay is arguably worth more than typical wages, * ^CNBC *  ^{National Employment Law Project} * ^{Los Angeles Times 4.9.2020} *

So, it looks like to get the Federal Benefits, you can just apply through the State of CA.

Under the new CARES Act responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, all states will be allowed to provide up to 13 additional weeks of federally funded extended benefits to people who exhaust their regular state benefits.

Under the Act, through the end of this year, people who exhaust both regular and extended benefits, and many others who have lost their jobs for reasons arising from the pandemic but who are not normally eligible for UI in their state, are eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. People can receive a maximum of 39 weeks of benefits this year from all three sources combined. ^CBPP.org

Program ends July 31, 2020, LA Times on if it will be extended.

 

See FAQ about if you can get the extra $600 if you are on SDI 

 

Resources

Employment Resources

• Labor and Workforce Development Agency – Resources for employers and workers including workers’ compensation and paid sick leave.
• Labor Commissioner’s Office FAQs – Employee leave options, compensation, and salary.
• Department of Fair Employment and Housing – Job protection and employment discrimination.
• Washington Post – Paid Sick Leave
• EDD pamphlet on unemployment and SDI benefits

Health Resources

• California Department of Public Health
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• World Health Organization
• FAQ from Website visitor on options to keep her health insurance, with no or less income.

 

See our webpage on how unemployment compensation  & Disability gets counted for MAGI Income under Covered CA subsidies, get quotes.  Appoint us as your agent.

More Information

Gig Workers  

Fraud

Another article  *  1  * 2 * Prisoner Fraud * Problems * What if $600 ends?  *  Freelancers *

Confusion between Net, Gross Income and MAGI Income. Nearly 1 million California’s will have to pay back unemployment benefits as they reported Net and not Gross Income.

Benefits were supposed to be based on their net income in 2019. But in all the confusion of an unprecedented program, many reported their gross income instead.

abc7news.com

LA Times 12/20/2020

Covered CA subsidies are based on Adjusted Gross Income + Social Security. https://individuals.healthreformquotes.com/subsidies/magi/

Like President Trump said, Insurance is very complicated. VIDEO

 

unemployment benefits fraud in California could total $2 billion,

Is this the biggest heist in history, at least in California? Well, that’s what the Sacramento County district attorney said

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-12/california-unemployment-benefits-fiasco

 

 

People who have lost work have options.

As businesses close down and the economy rapidly contracts, millions of people are losing their jobs or seeing their hours get slashed. If you’ve lost your job or had your hours reduced, here are some of your options.

• File for unemployment. Here’s how.
• File for paid sick leave. The government expanded who is eligible for paid sick leave due to the pandemic. Here’s how to find out if you’re eligible, and how to apply.
• Seek industry-specific resources. If you lost your job in the entertainment industry or the restaurant industry, there are special resources being made available. Here are the resources for unemployed entertainment workers, and here are the resources for unemployed restaurant workers.
• Find work you can do online. Teaching English, writing and editing, tutoring, working as a virtual assistant — there are more opportunities than ever to find jobs that only require an internet connection. The site SideHusl.com evaluates and reviews money-making opportunities in the gig economy, including remote work.
  • SkipTheDrive is a free curated job board for telecommuters.
  • VIPKid, Qkids and Magic Ears all hire native English speakers to teach Chinese students conversation skills after dinner and on weekends — Beijing time.
  • Wyzant, Varsity Tutors and Chelsea International Education all offer to connect tutors with students.
  • If you teach art, dance, drama or music, you can tutor online through LessonFace and TakeLessons. The sites Contently, Skyword and Cracked offer paid writing gigs, and Reedsy has work for editors.
  • You can find virtual assistant work through Boldly or Belay.
  • Working Not Working finds positions for digital creatives in advertising, film, and web and game design.
  • FreeUp is a marketplace where all sorts of professionals — content creators, accountants, marketing experts, web developers and administrators — can find work that pays $10 to $75 an hour.
  • Work at Home Vintage Experts, or Wahve, connects seasoned executives in insurance, human resources and accounting with small businesses that need regular help. ^{Los Angeles Times} *