Good morning,
When this crisis started, sunrise was at about 6:50 a.m. I would plod downstairs in the complete darkness to feed the dog and start writing my morning update. This morning, the sun rose at 5:18 a.m. Having it be so bright before I open my eyes definitely changes the tone and rhythm of my mornings. Hopefully soon, it’ll be warm enough so that I can take my laptop to the deck and drink my coffee in the sun as well. Something to look forward to.
This morning’s update includes brief notes on a grab bag of topics. The information below is accurate to the best of my understanding as of May 13 at 6 a.m.
Department of Economic and Community Development Weekly Updates
The Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), which has been quarterbacking the reopening plan, holds weekly briefings on Wednesdays. They are hugely informative. DECD Commissioner Heather Johnson patiently and confidently answers questions for about an hour. The questions and answers are summarized in writing after the meeting and emailed to everyone who registered for the update. You can find the answers from last week’s update here. While the briefings are always scheduled for Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m., they tend to be postponed a bit as needed in any particular week. If you register to attend the briefings, you’ll get emails updating you on the timing each week. Register here.
Senator King to hold online town hall with local businesses
This Friday at noon, Portland Buy Local will host a virtual Town Hall with Senator Angus King. He will discuss the CARES Act and next steps toward other federal policies to support our local business community, followed by a Q & A. You can send questions in advance to the Executive Director ahead of time at info@portlandbuylocal.org. Register here.
Guidance for filing weekly certifications
The Maine Department of Labor has made a video explaining how to fill out your weekly certification. The example in their video though only shows what to do if you earned no money in a given week. It doesn’t give guidance on how to fill out the form if you received PPP wages while on furlough or if you returned to your employer just for a few hours of work. We have asked for guidance for those scenarios, and I will share it here and on social media as soon as I receive it.
So far DOL has provided guidance for only one earnings scenario: How does a self-employed person report their weekly earnings if they make some money in a particular week? Here’s their response:
An unincorporated self-employed person who is filing weekly certifications, and making money some weeks and not others, should do the following in the PUA weekly certifications:
· Answer NO to #5
· Answer YES to #6
· Enter the earnings in the box provided under #6a (even though it is not an odd job)
Please use these answers so that the system does not treat this information as a new job in covered employment.
Though DOL has not confirmed it, the language in the PUA regulations suggests that you should report your net income after expenses and save documentation of the business expenses you paid.
Accessing health insurance if you’ve lost your employer-based coverage
I’ve written about it before, but as the weeks drag on and more and more folks lose their employer-based health insurance coverage, it’s critical to circle back. Please please don’t forgo health insurance. (There’s a pandemic going around and it could land you in the hospital, even if you are young and healthy.) You have options and they are affordable. Really! MaineCare expansion means that even if you’re out of work and collecting unemployment, you may be eligible for coverage. Assets do not count: you can own your home and have some savings and still be eligible for MaineCare. MaineCare provides very good coverage with very little out of pocket cost if you do get sick. If you may be eligible, you should apply. If you have lost your job, you are also likely eligible for health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act, which provides subsidies to help you afford both your premium and your copays and deductibles based on your current income.
Navigating these options and the application forms can be daunting, but you don’t need to go it alone. You can start the process at www.CoverME.gov. If you want to have a friendly human walk you through it all, you can call Consumers for Affordable Health Care at 1-800-965-7476.
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Yesterday was the first weekday since March 18 that I haven’t published a morning update. It was bound to happen at some point. Perhaps it’s ok because Monday’s update was so long that it was really like two days’ worth of writing? In any case, I expect that, going forward, there may be more days when I can’t find a couple hours in the morning to devote to writing. But I’m committed to continuing to provide updates as often as I can.
Every day at Maine CDC Director Dr. Shah’s daily briefing, he takes the opportunity to extend a thank you to various groups of people whose roles may otherwise go unrecognized. Today, I want to end by doing the same. While I write these updates myself each morning, I don’t send them out into the world until they have been read and edited by Isabel Mullin and/or Christine Kirby, two incredibly hard-working and dedicated staff members in my senate office. For 40 weekday mornings (and even a couple of Saturday mornings early on), they have been willing to pause whatever else they were doing to review my update immediately and help me get it out to you right away. I am so thankful for their support, their encouragement, and their insightful suggestions. I literally could not provide these updates to you without them.
Be well.
With love,
Heather
P.S. I can be reached at heather.sanborn@legislature.maine.gov.
P.P.S. You can subscribe to these updates at heathersanborn.substack.com.