HCAOA The Voice Fall 2020

19 Fall 2020 PUBLIC POLICY POLICY CONVERSATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY have focused on what state legislatures can do to help their communi - ties recover from the economic damage wreaked by COVID-19. At the time the Spring-Summer issue of The Voice was published, it was assumed that Congress would deliver a fourth COVID relief bill that would extend CARES Act Funding and the Paycheck Protection Program. Unfortunately, that bill never came to fruition, and so much of those protections and funds became the responsi - bility of state policy makers. HCAOA Members have pushed hard for key protections for frontline workers—over the Summer 2,000 members sent over 5,000 messages to their Senators and Representatives demanding things like increased access to PPE, hazard pay, and expanded protections for home-based community services like home care. While those did not become federal law, some states have taken up these items. Michigan Creates Hazard Pay Fund for Frontline Workers The State of Michigan in mid-July released a total of $300 million in hazard pay to first responders for working during the coronavi - rus pandemic. The First Responder Hazard Pay Premiums and the Public Safety and Public Health Pay Roll Reimbursement programs are aimed at helping first responders receive premium hazard pay and reim - bursing local governments for payroll costs incurred due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a July 8 state news release. The money comes from federal coronavirus relief funds appropriated by the state July 1. Public Policy Decisions across the U.S. Impact Care Delivery