Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Extends Federal Foreclosure Moratorium, Mortgage Aid
The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it would extend the foreclosure moratorium and mortgage forbearance through the end of June. The actions would block home foreclosures and offer delayed mortgage payments until July, as well as offer six months of additional mortgage forbearance for those who enroll on or before June 30. (Payne, 2/16)
Homeowners will now be able to receive up to six months of additional mortgage payment forbearance, in increments of three months, for those borrowers who entered forbearance before June 30, 2020, the White House said. Borrowers who enter into such plans can skip payments if they suffer a pandemic-related hardship but have to make them up later. Some 2.7 million homeowners have active forbearance plans—representing 5% of all mortgage-holders—and more than half of the plans are set to end for good in March, April, May or June, according to mortgage-data firm Black Knight Inc. (Thomas and Ackerman, 2/16)
In related news about covid's economic toll —
The Internal Revenue Service says your stimulus payment has been sent, but there’s still a chance you’ll have to ask for the money when you file your taxes. The I.R.S. said on Tuesday that the payments, including the most recent $600 checks and the earlier $1,200 installments, have been issued. Most eligible people should have received their payments by now, even though an estimated 13 million payments were misdirected last month and had to be rerouted. (2/17)
President Biden has yet to see his first major legislative proposal pass Congress as negotiations over an economic relief package are ongoing, but the White House is already eyeing how to prioritize its next round of policy pushes. Much of the attention has been on Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which is expected to pass through the budget reconciliation process in the coming weeks. (Samuels, 2/16)
President Biden indicated Tuesday that he’s open to negotiation on his proposal for a $15 minimum wage, a centerpiece of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that’s emerged as a flash point as congressional Democrats push the legislation forward. Biden suggested he could be open to a longer phase-in than the current plan of five years in Democrats’ legislation. He also indicated that a lower number — $12 or $13 — could be beneficial while having less potential impact on business owners. (Werner, 2/16)
