ARRA

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) is a stimulus package enacted in February 2009. The legislation includes measures worth approximately $787 billion, 19 percent of which are devoted to health care. Also included in the Act are federal tax cuts, expansions in unemployment benefits and social welfare programs, and domestic spending in education and infrastructure improvements.

Through the ARRA, $147.7 billion was appropriated for health care, including:

• $86.6 billion for Medicaid
• $24.7 billion to provide a 65 percent subsidy of health care insurance premiums for the unemployed under the COBRA program
• $19 billion for health information technology
• $10 billion for health research and construction of National Institutes of Health facilities
• $1.3 billion for medical care for service members and their families (military)
• $1 billion for prevention and wellness
• $1 billion for the Veterans Health Administration
• $2 billion for Community Health Centers
• $1.1 billion to research the effectiveness of certain healthcare treatments
• $500 million to train healthcare personnel
• $500 million for healthcare services on Indian reservations

Resources

Explanation of Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) provisions (ama-assn.org PDF)

Explanation of HIT provisions (ama-assn.org PDF)

Explanation of privacy provisions (ama-assn.org PDF)

COBRA continuation coverage assistance under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (dol.gov)