American Rescue Plan is a boon for health care
After a year of the pandemic crisis taking over our lives and our economy, a return to normalcy is finally in sight thanks to aggressive action by the federal government to get COVID-19 under control and get the country on track. President Joe Biden promised to increase access to testing and vaccines, to expand health care and provide much needed economic relief for business, families and workers who desperately need it. Last week, he signed the American Rescue Plan (ARP), which did all these things and laid the groundwork for an economic recovery over the coming months.
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our family business, Kalifano. We have imported and marketed crystals, gemstones, fossils and recycled metal art for four generations. Before the pandemic, it was a blessing for our company and brand to be based in Las Vegas because it was a tourist and business destination. We never imagined an extreme decline of tourists and conventioneers to our retail locations at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace and the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian. Thanks to the CARES and ARP bills, we received Payroll Protection Program loans that allowed us to keep the majority of our employees working. The program benefited us to reposition our team members in our corporate office and warehouse to develop our online business. We are hopeful that under the American Rescue Plan, Kalifano will continue to expand with the opening of two locations at Mccarran International Airport and become a five-generation Las Vegas success story.
Despite the trials, COVID has also taught us some important lessons about how to be more ready for the next crisis. No matter what comes, guaranteed access to quality, affordable health care for everyone must be in place as a first line of defense in an epidemic, natural disaster, terrorist attack or national security breach.
As we mark the 11th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act this week, we have a lot more to celebrate than we did just a year ago.
We’re much closer to ensuring that everyone has access to quality, affordable health care than we have been in a decade thanks to tremendous improvements to affordability and access in the rescue package. The ARP’S expansions of premium subsidies, Medicaid funding and health coverage for unemployed people demonstrate what we can do when we build on our successes.
My son contracted COVID-19 in December 2020 and, thankfully, recovered quickly at home — but some of my family members and co-workers have not been so lucky.
A co-worker is considered a COVID long-hauler and still suffers from debilitating side effects that affect her daily life. We provide health insurance to our team members, but many businesses do not, and that’s why the ACA continues to be so critical, especially during a pandemic.
No matter whether you have a personal experience with COVID or not, the best way to protect everyone is to ensure that every person has access to quality, affordable health care in the future, so they can get tested, vaccinated and treated, and avoid spreading the illness to others. When everyone has access to health care, we can all do our part to keep each other safe and take care of our families.