COVID-19 Information, Resources, and Opportunities

Updated April 13, 2021

See all NCIL COVID-19 Information and Action Alerts

Legislation / Congress

Package 1: On March 6, 2020 the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act was signed into law. This provides $8.3 billion in emergency funding to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Read the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act

Package 2: On March 18, 2020 the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed in to law. This increases Medicaid funding through a 6.2% FMAP (Federal Medical Assistance Percentage) increase, provides free COVID-19 testing, provides for some emergency paid sick and family leave, expands food assistance, and expands unemployment benefits.

Package 3: On March 27, 2020 the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law. The CARES Act is a $2 trillion package that includes direct “recovery rebates” to individuals, expanded unemployment benefits, funding for businesses, and funding for a range of programs like housing and transportation, among other things.

Package 3.5 On April 24, 2020 the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act was signed into law. This is an interim bill (known as “Package 3.5”) that provided additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), COVID-19 testing, and other provisions from the CARES Act.

Read the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act

Package 4: On December 27, 2020 the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law. This $900 billion bill includes both government funding and COVID-19 relief. The COVID-19 relief includes a smaller round of “recovery rebate” payments to individuals, funding for emergency rental assistance and an extension of the CDC’s eviction moratorium, a renewal and extension of unemployment benefits, funding for COVID-19 vaccine efforts, and funding for schools, transportation, food assistance, small businesses, and more. The package also includes a 3-year reauthorization of the Money Follows the Person program through September 2023.

Read the Consolidated Appropriations Act (PDF)
Read a one-page summary of the COVID-19 relief (PDF)
Read a division-by-division summary of the COVID-19 relief provisions (PDF)
NCIL Information Alert: Congress Passes COVID-19 Bill; Disability Community Needs Continue to be Unmet

Package 5: On March 11, the American Rescue Plan became law. Importantly, this nearly $1.9 trillion bill finally includes dedicated funding for Medicaid home and community based services (in the form of a 10 percentage point FMAP bump through March 31, 2022). It also includes another round of “recovery rebate” payments to individuals, an expansion of unemployment benefits, an expansion of Affordable Care Act subsidies, and additional funding for COVID-19 vaccine efforts, rental assistance, education, transportation, food assistance, and more.

Get Involved

The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies is hosting daily COVID-19 Disability Rights Workgroup Calls. They are held at 6:00 p.m. Eastern every day except Thursday. On Thursdays, they are held at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. You can find out more, get the call-in information, or be added to the email distribution list by emailing dart@disasterstrategies.org.

Learn more about the Partnership at disasterstrategies.org
Read their National Call to Action

NCIL’s Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee meets monthly via teleconference and has been communicating regularly about COVID-19 as well. If you are interested in joining the subcommittee, contact Subcommittee Chair Todd Holloway at toddh@cfisouth.org.