Skip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footer
Get our Free E-newslettersGet our Free E-newsletters
Kiplinger logoLink to homepage
Get our Free E-newslettersGet our Free E-newsletters
Subscribe to Kiplinger
Subscribe to Kiplinger
Save up to 76%
Subscribe
Subscribe to Kiplinger
  • Store
  • Home
  • Investing
  • Retirement
  • Taxes
  • Personal Finance
  • Your Business
  • Wealth Creation
  • More
    • Podcasts
    • Economic Outlooks
    • Tools
  • My Kiplinger
    • Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine
    • The Kiplinger Letter
    • The Kiplinger Tax Letter
    • Kiplinger's Investing for Income
    • Kiplinger's Retirement Report
    • Store
    • Manage My E-Newsletters
    • My Subscriptions
  • Home
  • personal finance
  • credit & debt
  • debt
  • loan forgiveness
Politics

8 Benefits for Healthcare Workers, First Responders in the HEROES Act

Parts of the massive federal stimulus passed by the House of Representatives focus on workers on the front line of the coronavirus battle.

by: Bob Niedt
May 21, 2020

Getty Images

While the latest stimulus bill being batted around Congress, the Health and Economic Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, is stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate, the real heroes battling coronavirus on the front lines continue to fight the good fight.

And it’s here where inaction -- on the bill, which was passed by the Democratic-controlled House of Representative -- so far fails the health care workers and first responders (law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians) it is designed, in part, to help. But just how is the $3 trillion HEROES Act planning to benefit the front-line fighters? Part of the bill includes a $200 billion Heroes’ fund “to ensure that essential workers who have risked their lives working during the pandemic receive hazard pay.”

I have skin in this game. My daughter is a registered nurse whose job, in part, includes taking the temperature of anyone coming to the emergency room at the hospital where she works. So you can be darn sure I’m keeping an eye on the HEROES Act for my hero, and other health care workers and first responders. Here’s some of what the HEROES Act offers them.

  • 5 HEROES Act Provisions with a Good Chance of Becoming Law

1 of 8

Bonus Pay for Health Care Workers, First Responders

Getty Images

Health care workers and first responders, including police and firefighters among essential workers, would be eligible for $13-per-hour pay bumps up to $10,000 (on top of their regular salary) as part of the HEROES Act. The pay would be retroactive to January 27, when the COVID-19 public health emergency was declared, until 60 days after the end of the emergency.

The employer would apply for the grants from the federal government to cover the pandemic premium pay for essential workers. The employees would see a separate line item on their paycheck showing this pandemic premium pay. Your boss would not be allowed to reduce any other pay or benefits because of this. The retroactive pandemic premium pay would come in a lump sum soon after your employer gets the grant. Oh, and yes: it would be taxable.

  • How a Second Stimulus Check Could Differ from Your First One

2 of 8

Child Care Assistance for Health Care and Emergency Services Workers

Getty Images

Included in the HEROES Act is $850 million going to the states to assist essential workers, including health care workers and emergency response workers, for child and adult care help, beginning January 21 of this year. Individual states would decide how the extra funding works; they could directly pay child care (as well as adult care) providers or reimburse workers directly if they pay for care themselves.

  • 11 Ways the CARES Act and Other Government Measures Could Help You in 2020

3 of 8

More Health Care Jobs with Student Loan Payoffs

Getty Images

Looking for a job in the healthcare industry without the unbearable weight of student loans? The HEROES Act has a path. Included in the bill is the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program, structured to “assure an adequate supply of and encourage recruitment of public health professionals to eliminate critical public health workforce shortages in local, state, territorial, and tribal public health agencies.”

Participants in the program must be accepted into an accredited educational institution or in the final semester of a program leading to a public health degree (health professions degree or certificate or a degree in computer science, information science, information systems, information technology or statistics). Once they accept employment with a public health agency and sign a contract to work there for two years or more, the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program will pay off their student loans up to $35,000 per year of contracted service.

Bonus: Those who have worked in the public health workforce for the last 10 years are also eligible to have their student loans paid off through the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program.

  • Answers to PPP Loan FAQs (Now That There's Fresh Funding for the Loans)

4 of 8

Disability (and Death) Benefits for Public Safety Officers

Getty Images

Included in the HEROES Act are disability and death benefits for public safety officers affected by COVID-19 while on active duty. Benefits would apply to public safety officers diagnosed with COVID-19 from January 20, 2020, until one year after the coronavirus emergency period is declared over.

  • 7 CARES Act Tax Breaks for Businesses

5 of 8

Aid for Firefighters through FEMA

Getty Images

The HEROES Act includes $1.3 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prevent, prepare for and respond to the coronavirus. Included in that is $500 million to purchase personal protective equipment and related supplies, mental health evaluations, training and decontamination or sanitizing facilities and equipment for firefighters. There’s also $500 million for hiring and retaining firefighters.

  • Who's Not Getting a Stimulus Check (Or Has to Return It)

6 of 8

Funding for Police Officers

Getty Images

The HEROES Act includes $300 million for the purchase of personal protective equipment for law enforcement, as well as for the hiring or rehiring additional career law enforcement officers.

  • 10 Things You Must Know About Filing for Unemployment Benefits

7 of 8

Tax Deduction for First Responders

Getty Images

Under the HEROES Act, first responders would be able to take a $500 “above-the-line” tax deduction for unreimbursed expenses for tuition and fees related to professional development or training, or for the cost of uniforms. An "above-the-line" deduction means a deduction you can claim even if you don't itemize.

  • 37 Major U.S. Companies Hiring Now to Meet Coronavirus Demand

8 of 8

Tax Deduction for COVID-19 Front-Line Employees

Getty Images

The Heroes’ Act would allow a $500 “above-the-line” tax deduction for 2020 for the uniforms, supplies, and equipment of COVID-19 front-line employees and first responders.

  • FAQs on Stimulus Payments by Prepaid Debit Card (It's Not a Scam or Junk Mail!)
  • student loans
  • loans
  • Coronavirus and Your Money
  • Politics
  • loan forgiveness
Share via EmailShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn

Recommended

Student Loans: Pay Down or Hold Pat?
Paying for College

Student Loans: Pay Down or Hold Pat?

Before you tell your lender you want to resume payments, consider whether there are better uses for your money.
February 22, 2021
Biden Steers PPP Loans to Smallest Businesses
Coronavirus and Your Money

Biden Steers PPP Loans to Smallest Businesses

For two weeks, mom-and-pop businesses will move to the front of the line for Paycheck Protection Program loans.
February 22, 2021
Tax Changes and Key Amounts for the 2020 Tax Year
tax law

Tax Changes and Key Amounts for the 2020 Tax Year

There were a lot of tax changes for the 2020 tax year. Get familiar with them now – before you file your 2020 tax return.
February 8, 2021
FAFSA Application Changes Are Coming – What They Mean for Middle- and High-Income Families
student loans

FAFSA Application Changes Are Coming – What They Mean for Middle- and High-Income Families

Applying for college financial aid will soon get easier, but some single parents and those with multiple kids in college may not be happy about other …
February 2, 2021

Most Popular

Where's My Refund? How to Track Your Tax Refund Status
tax refunds

Where's My Refund? How to Track Your Tax Refund Status

If you're waiting for your tax refund, the IRS has an online tool that lets you track the status of your payment.
March 2, 2021
Where's My Stimulus Check? Use the IRS's "Get My Payment" Portal to Get an Answer
Coronavirus and Your Money

Where's My Stimulus Check? Use the IRS's "Get My Payment" Portal to Get an Answer

The IRS has an online tool that lets you track the status of your stimulus checks.
February 19, 2021
Your Guide to Roth Conversions
Special Report
Tax Breaks

Your Guide to Roth Conversions

A Kiplinger Special Report
February 25, 2021
  • Customer Service
  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us (PDF)
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Kiplinger Careers
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Preferences

Subscribe to Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Be a smarter, better informed investor.
Save up to 76%Subscribe to Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Dennis Publishing Ltd logoLink to Dennis Publishing Ltd website
Do Not Sell My Information

The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc., is part of the Dennis Publishing Ltd. Group.
All Contents © 2021, The Kiplinger Washington Editors

Follow us on InstagramFollow us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterConnect on LinkedInConnect on YouTube