WASHINGTON — Do you or a loved one get your health insurance through the Affordable Care Act?

The latest numbers show 31 million people are currently enrolled in either marketplace plans or through Medicaid expansion nationwide - that's a record.

However, there are looming questions about whether a major rate hike is on the horizon for many of those health insurance plans.

THE ISSUE

There is inflation and there is Ukraine. There is an ongoing abortion debate.

Let's face it — the country is facing a lot.

Well, you can add health insurance premium hikes to the ongoing list of issues facing the United States.

Remember the Affordable Care Act and how it created new health insurance options for those who don't have insurance?

When President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law during the height of the pandemic, it created what's known as "advanced premium tax credits" that made health insurance plans obtained through the government marketplace cheaper.

The average family saved $200 in premiums, according to the latest data.

4 out of 5 consumers were eligible for plans that cost $10/month.

Enrollment has been up 21% this year — with lower prices playing a big role.

However, the funding that made plans so cheap will expire at the end of this year with families set to receive notice just a few weeks before Election Day.

Some plans may go up by hundreds of dollars each month.

More than a dozen Democratic governors wrote to Members of Congress last week asking them to take action to prevent what they call "dramatic premium increases" soon.

There are concerns in states like California, Colorado, Michigan and Nevada that this could lead to Americans declining health insurance.

So far, though, it's unclear whether Congress will address this.

Republicans have been reluctant to extend any type of pandemic assistance over concerns it will fuel inflation.

Democrats, meanwhile, are hopeful a solution could be included in a reconciliation package this summer.

That hypothetical legislation would pass with only Democratic votes in the Senate and likely address prescription drug reform and climate change as well.

However, that legislation hasn't been made public yet and would need the support of every Democrat in the Senate.

Recent history has shown us that it is a difficult task.

After all, Biden's signature "Build Back Better" legislation stalled over objections by Democrats — like Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

BERRLIN, Vt. — Off the side of a busy road is a humble motel that has been remodeled to fit a growing need similar to that seen in communities across the country.

This is the only empty room at this shelter owned by Good Samaritan Haven in Central Vermont and it will only be empty for another hour as someone who needs shelter is moving in. The goal here is to move people out into permanent housing, but that permanent housing is getting harder to find. Some are waiting months to a year for the next available housing.

"There's a big bottleneck of housing options so that that leaves people to whether they might be ready or not to move on. The housing options might not be there. They simply aren't there," said Julie Bond, the co-executive director of the organization.

This area right outside the state’s capital is feeling the crush of a lack of available housing and the intense need to house people. Co-executive directors Julie Bond and Rick DeAngelis say they have been scrambling to help 100% more people than they were serving in 2019.

"I'm not even sure I can tell you why, except that there is a rental house in crisis in Vermont and that together with other factors has left a lot of people in a tough spot," said Rick.

With American Rescue Plan money, the state has been able to afford to take people out of congregate shelters and into motels and hotels, along with other rental and emergency assistance, which helped greatly but that money from the one-time federal payment will be spent in the spring.

"There will be some percentage of the folks who are in motels that will stay there with state assistance, but I am expecting that the lion's share will be, it'll just be over and they'll have to find, um, some other place to live," said Rick.

After skipping a year due to the pandemic, the latest point-in-time data from HUD shows 582,462 people were homeless in 2022, a .3% increase since 2020, however, the number of unsheltered people jumped almost 4%.

Although the ARPA funds are drying up, there is hope for more aid.

In December, the Biden administration announced the ‘All In Federal Strategy to End Homelessness” which hopes to reduce the number of unhoused people 25% by 2025, with an emphasis on “housing first” policies. The omnibus spending package also includes $6.4 billion for HUD than the year before to address housing.

"My hope is that as a state, we are coming together for more affordable housing options that are, that are creative, that are quick, that are things that are going to, to help in the, to stave off the immediacy of the need," said Julie.

While these long-term plans fall into place at the federal level, Rick and Julie say they’re still running out of time to fit the needs of today.

They are hoping for more action on local levels to address housing needs more efficiently; programs like home sharing or people using their short-term rentals for long-term homes are a couple of solutions they want to see.

"Is there a way to shift from a profit-minded space to a compassion and heart-centered need-based economy right now? You know, that's the, that's the hope," Julie said.

Big federal plans are a good thing, they tell me. But to address the day-to-day realities they see, actions at this point are necessary to continue the good they still need to do.

"We're just not meeting the need enough. There are so many people suffering with substance abuse and mental health issues. We provide a very basic service here, and I wish we could be providing more," said Rick.

WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden released initial details of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan that aims to stem the surging pandemic, speed up vaccinations and provide further financial help to Americans, as well as local governments and businesses dealing with almost a year of economic declines.

"After nearly a year of the public health crisis, our nation remains in this dark winter of the pandemic and facing a deep economic crisis," reads a statement from Biden's transition team.

More than 385,000 people have died in the U.S. from COVID-19 since the virus was first identified in the country in early 2020. More than 23.2 million Americans have tested positive for COVID-19.

The plan, which the Biden team calls the "American Rescue Plan," includes $1,400 checks for individuals, which would be in addition to the $600 stimulus checks approved at the end of 2020.

The "American Rescue Plan is ambitious, but achievable, and will rescue the American economy and start beating the virus," Biden's team said in a statement.

The plan calls for providing paid sick leave to contain the spread of the coronavirus as well as providing direct housing and nutrition assistance. Biden is also asking for Congress to approve $400/week unemployment insurance supplement payments.

In addition, the plan would include money for a large vaccination campaign and expansion of current local efforts. The Biden team calls it a "whole-of-government" response plan, and he will ask Congress to approve $160 billion to execute a national vaccination program, expand testing and address public health job staffing and training.

Biden's team says the American Rescue Plan is for the immediate crisis, and he plans on introducing a recovery plan that they say will create millions of jobs and address climate change.

"Next month, in my first appearance before a Joint Session of Congress, I will lay out the second step, my Build Back Better Recovery Plan. It will make historic investments in infrastructure and manufacturing, innovation, research and development, and clean energy. Investments in the caregiving economy and in skills and training needed by our workers to compete and win the global economy of the future," Biden said.

Labor Department statistics show there are still almost 10 million jobs that are no longer in the U.S. economy that were lost during the pandemic and have not been added back. Millions more have been out of work or are underemployed.

CLEVELAND — Claudia Longo is not a procrastinator. She said every year, and she files her taxes early. This year she filed in February.

“We usually are pretty early filing. I don’t like waiting until the last minute,” said Longo. “It’s usually super fast, and the money is in the bank.”

But this year, of course, was not like past years.

In March, the American Rescue Plan became law stating that the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits would not be taxable income. When that happened, Longo’s tax preparer filed an amendment on her behalf.

“Apparently, after we did that, they announced the IRS was going to do everything automatically, with unemployment, but it was too late for us because we had already filed the amendment,” she said.

Five months later, Longo is still waiting for her refund.

“At the beginning, I was just checking my bank, and I thought, well, this is strange,” she said.

She’s called the IRS.

“You wait for an hour sometimes, and it kicks you out of the line. I mean, it’s very frustrating,” said Longo.

She’s called her accountant.

“He said, ‘There’s not a lot I can do. They’re going to give me the same answer that they’re giving to you, and they’re just processing it,’” she said.

She’s logged into IRS’s refund tracker more times than she can count.

“It said it hadn’t been processed,” she said.

She said she is owed about $7,500, which does not account for the child tax credits for her two children.

Meltrice Sharpe is a CPA and the managing partner of CLE Consulting Firm. Among other services, the firm files taxes for businesses and individuals. Sharpe said they, too, are inundated with calls from clients asking when they will get their tax refunds.

“People aren't getting the refunds that they're used to getting in less than 21 days,” said Sharpe. “It can be really frustrating, but the best advice we give people is patience.”

She said the IRS is backlogged, and the organization went into the 2020 tax season with backlogs from 2019.

“It's not that your tax preparer has done something wrong. It's just that there is a backlog,” she said. “The same hour or two that you would be on hold, we are on hold, we are on hold, as well. The same hangup you get, we’re going to get as well.”

Nearly 15 million people throughout the United States are waiting on tax refunds. She noted that the IRS's bad situation is made worse when you add in a pandemic and a labor shortage.

“You think about the IRS employees and what they've had to do over the course of the last year and a half, is process stimulus checks. They're changing tax code and tax laws consistently and constantly using antiquated systems,” said Sharpe.

She is frustrated, too.

“It’s an unfortunate situation. A lot of these people whose refunds are being held up really, really need their money,” she said.

Sharpe noted the best thing you can do is not to call the IRS because you most likely won’t be able to get through to someone who can sort out your situation, but said check on your refund status on the IRS website.

“It won’t give you, you know, why your reason is being held up, but it will tell you, in some instances, that they've received it, it's being processed, it's been suspended," Sharpe said.

Longo and Sharpe echoed the same sentiments about fixing the problem, noting it may be time for elected officials to step in and help.

“It's going to take funding to fund an updated, more efficient tax system. It's going to take funding to hire more people, thinking of potential innovative ways to do things by leveraging outsourcing, third party companies to help with this,” said Sharpe.

Longo reached out to Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office to see if he could help and spoke to a representative who she’s hoping can move things along for her.

“I feel like there’s not a lot I can do,” she said.

Sharpe said she is not confident that the backlog will go away anytime soon and thinks the sheer volume of unprocessed refunds will carry over into the 2021 tax season.

News 5 reached out to Sen. Brown and Sen. Rob Portman’s office for comment. Brown’s office has not gotten back.

A spokesperson for Portman said, “As a member of the Finance Committee, Rob shares the concerns about the backlog and has reached out to the IRS and encouraged them to fix their backlog and other customer service issues.”

The IRS said this:

The IRS is opening mail within normal timeframes. All paper and electronic individual returns received before April 2021 have been processed if the return had no errors or did not require further review. As of July 24, 2021, we had 14.7 million unprocessed individual returns. Unprocessed individual returns include the tax year 2020 returns such as those requiring correction [irs.gov] to the Recovery Rebate Credit amount or validation of 2019 income used to figure the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). This work does not require us to correspond with taxpayers but does require special handling by an IRS employee, so, in these instances, it is taking the IRS more than 21 days to issue any related refund, and in some cases, this work could take 90 to 120 days. If, as a result, a correction is made to any RRC, EITC or ACTC claimed on the return, the IRS will send taxpayers an explanation. Taxpayers are encouraged to continue to check Where’s My Refund? [irs.gov] for their personalized refund status and can review Tax Season Refund Frequently Asked Questions [irs.gov].

How long you may have to wait: The IRS understands the importance of timely processing tax returns and refund issuance. We have processed all error-free returns received before April 2021 and continue to work on the returns that must be manually reviewed due to errors. We are continuing to reroute tax returns and taxpayer correspondence from behind locations where more staff is available, and we are taking other actions to minimize any delays. Tax returns are opened and processed in the order received. As the return is processed, whether it was filed electronically or on paper, it may be delayed because it has a mistake, including errors concerning the Recovery Rebate Credit, missing information, or suspected identity theft or fraud. If we can fix it without contacting you, we will. If we need more information or need you to verify that it was you who sent the tax return, we will write you a letter. The resolution of these issues could take 90 to 120 days, depending on how quickly and accurately you respond and the ability of IRS staff trained and working under social distancing requirements to complete the processing of your return.

What you should do: In most instances, no further action is needed, but you may check Where’s my refund, or you can view your account [irs.gov]. If you filed electronically and received an acknowledgment, you do not need to take any further action other than promptly responding to any requests for information. If you filed on paper, check. Where’s my refund? If it tells you we have received your return or are processing or reviewing it, we are processing it, but it may be under review. We’re working hard to get through the backlog. Please don’t file a second tax return or contact the IRS about the status of your return.

As for amended returns, there are some situations when that is appropriate:

Most taxpayers need not take any action, and there is no need to call the IRS. However, if taxpayers are now eligible for deductions or credits not claimed on the original return because of the excluded unemployment compensation, they should file a Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

Taxpayers should file an amended return if they:

• did not submit a Schedule 8812 with the original return to claim the Additional Child Tax Credit and are now eligible for the credit after the unemployment compensation exclusion;
• did not submit a Schedule EIC with the original return to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (with qualifying dependents) and are now eligible for the credit after the unemployment compensation exclusion;
• are now eligible for any other credits and/or deductions not mentioned below. Make sure to include any required forms or schedules.

Taxpayers do not need to file an amended return if they:

• already filed a tax return and did not claim the unemployment exclusion; the IRS will determine the correct taxable amount of unemployment compensation and tax;
• have an adjustment, because of the exclusion, that will increase any non-refundable or refundable credits reported on the original return;
• did not claim the following credits on their tax return but are now eligible when the unemployment exclusion is applied: Recovery Rebate Credit, Earned Income Credit with no qualifying dependents, or the Advance Premium Tax Credit. The IRS will calculate the credit and include it in any overpayment;
• filed a married filing joint return, live in a community property state, and entered a smaller exclusion amount than entitled on Schedule 1, line 8.

Taxpayers will generally receive letters from the IRS within 30 days of the adjustment, informing them of what kind of adjustment was made (such as refund, payment of IRS debt payment, or payment offset for other authorized debts) and the amount of the adjustment.

Jessi Schultz at WEWS first reported this story.

Many families will soon begin receiving monthly payments from the IRS as part of the credit that was included in the American Rescue Plan.Some have already received a rather confusing letter about the program. Here's what parents should understand about the program:When Democrats in Congress passed the most recent stimulus package in March, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, it included an expansion of the Child Tax Credit this year. Instead of $2,000, the credit grows to $3,000 per child for those age 6 through 17 and $3,600 for children under age 6. The law also calls for the IRS to send families monthly advance payments for half the amount you're owed starting in July and running through the end of the year.So if you're owed $3,000, you'll get $250 a month for 6 months and will collect the other $1,500 when you file taxes.In order to qualify, the family must have filed either a 2019 or 2020 tax return. Qualification for the payments is based on the reported income and begins to phase out starting at $75,000 for single filers or $150,000 for a couple. Congress also made the child tax credit this year fully refundable, which means you can collect it even if you don't owe any money in taxes.

CINCINNATI — The city budget is finally balanced, but it took $67 million of American Rescue Plan funding to make it happen. On Thursday, at the first public hearing for Cincinnati’s 2022 budget, groups made their case to receive a portion of what’s left.

But members of council are still uncertain about the city’s financial future. Decisions made in Columbus could radically change Cincinnati’s plans.

The issue: "There is significant uncertainty in the short term regarding the extent of income taxes,” said assistant city manager Chris Bingham.

Earnings tax, which funds a majority of Cincinnati’s city budget, can usually only be collected from people working within city limits.

During the pandemic, Gov. Mike DeWine signed an order allowing Ohio cities to collect the tax from people working remotely for local companies while living elsewhere.

RELATED: Remote workers want to stop paying city income taxes

That measure isn’t permanent, however. And if people don’t return to working in-person, inside city limits, the tax revenue they generated for local government will be lost.

Worst of all, from a local government’s point of view: The Ohio House and Senate are considering bills that would require cities to refund the remote workers who paid earnings tax during the pandemic.

“It would be absolutely devastating for a city like Cincinnati that is so dependent on the earnings tax,” said Councilmember David Mann, who chairs City Council’s budget and finance committee.

But Cincinnati would also have time to plan. Mann said he and his colleagues are ready to use American Rescue Plan money to fill the tax gap this year and next if necessary.

“It’s not like the money disappears the next day” if a new bill is passed, Mann said. “One of the things we did when we made estimates about how to use the stimulus money was to increase our contingency because of those issues.”

The city budget must be finalized and approved by the end of June.

WASHINGTON —

President Joe Biden on Wednesday is set to promote the newly launched Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which was established to help struggling restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a White House official.

Applications for the program opened on Monday. The $28.6 billion fund was established as part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill the president signed into law earlier this year.

The president will provide an update on his administration's implementation of that law, which was Biden's first and most pressing legislative priority since taking office, in the State Dining Room at the White House.

On Wednesday morning, Biden visited Taqueria Las Gemelas, a restaurant in Northeast Washington, D.C., that he says was the first restaurant in the country to receive funds from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. He said the restaurant received $677,000 from the program.

The president spoke with employees and picked up lunch, joking about how on the campaign trail his staff would sometimes eat tacos he was saving for himself.

According to the White House, 186,200 restaurants, bars, and other eligible businesses in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories applied for relief through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

The Restaurant Revitalization Fund will provide restaurants with up to $10 million per business in funding to match their pandemic-related revenue losses, with no more than $5 million per physical location, according to the Small Business Administration. The minimum award is $1,000.

The SBA will prioritize funding applications from small businesses owned and run by women, veterans and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals for the first 21 days of the program, according to the White House. After those initial 21 days, the applications will work on a first-come, first-served basis.

Funds from the program may be used for costs related to the business including payroll costs, payments on any mortgage obligation, rent payments, debt service, utility payments, maintenance expenses, construction of outdoor seating, supplies and other expenses.

Those who receive the funds do not have to repay the money as long as they are used for eligible expenses no later than March 11, 2023.

Businesses eligible for the funding include restaurants, food trucks, caterers, bars, bakeries, breweries, wineries, inns and others.

The Biden administration has stressed that equity is at the center of their response to the coronavirus pandemic and has focused on communities and Americans hardest-hit by the pandemic and the economic fallout.

The Independent Restaurant Coalition, a group formed during the pandemic to advocate for struggling independent restaurants and bars nationwide, has been pushing for a much-larger $120 billion restaurant revitalization fund.

The group says the pandemic has cost restaurants and bars more than $219 billion in sales and that they have received less than $24 billion in the first round of Paycheck Protection Program loans.

"The overwhelming demand for this fund makes clear that restaurants and bars are hurting," Erika Polmar, executive director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, told CNN.

Polmar said: "The SBA and the Biden Administration left no detail to chance in building this program and we are grateful they implemented this program quickly and took our concerns seriously to allow the businesses hurting the most to access the relief they desperately need."

The COVID-19 economic relief law included $1,400 stimulus checks to Americans, unemployment assistance, aid to states and municipalities, nutrition assistance, housing aid, tax credits for families and workers, funding for optional paid sick and family leave, health insurance subsidies and Medicaid, more money for small businesses and more.

Shortly after signing the COVID-19 economic relief legislation into law, Biden announced Gene Sperling, a former top economic official in the last two Democratic presidential administrations, would serve as the coordinator overseeing the implementation of the law.

The Treasury Department also established an Office of Recovery Programs to work closely with Sperling and lead the agency's implementation of economic relief measures from the three massive congressional coronavirus relief bills. The office is led by Jacob Leibenluft.

Now Biden is focused on passing his next legislative priority: roughly $4 trillion in investments focused on infrastructure, education, child care and paid family leave.