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Here’s how the American Families Plan could improve it.

While it’s hard to think of positives from the recent pandemic, this may be a silver lining: It’s shown you how essential our health is. After all, the coronavirus seemed to impact those with ailments like diabetes, obesity, and heart disease most, causing many to lose their lives too soon.

Is the American Families Plan President Biden’s direct response to the coronavirus pandemic? Not necessarily, as he addressed it more with the previously approved American Rescue Plan. Instead, the American Families Plan looks to give households in need a foundation so they can build for the future. And while it offers many benefits like free college, here are the ones that could boost your family’s health for years to come:

1. Affordable Health Insurance

Biden’s American Rescue Plan offered two years of lowered health insurance premiums for people who buy coverage independently. This saves an average of $50 per person each month on insurance costs, which can mean significant savings for a large family. Under the American Families Plan, such savings would last much longer than two years, as they would be made permanent.

Calculations show that lowered premiums would help nine million people save hundreds of dollars annually. More importantly, it would help four million uninsured people get the coverage they deserve.

Beyond more accessible health care, the American Families Plan would also increase investment in maternal health and care for veterans’ families.

2. Nutrition Assistance

Children need nutritious meals to grow and perform well in school. While schools have offered such meals through government assistance programs, the coronavirus shutdowns made parents wonder how they’d feed their children with campuses closed. The Summer Pandemic-EBT stepped in to help parents buy food to replace those free or reduced-price school meals, and it would become permanent under the American Families Plan.

3. Free Preschool

Many worry that quarantines and stay-at-home orders will harm children’s mental health. But the pandemic isn’t the only thing that can keep kids from socializing, as households who can’t afford preschool can do the same.

To help children get the schooling and socialization they need regardless of income, the American Families Plan would make preschool for kids ages three and four free. In addition, child care would be free for families with little to no income, while others would pay based on an affordable sliding scale.

4. Mental Health Services

Studies show that some college students have trouble completing their studies due to mental health issues. To improve college retention and completion rates, the American Families Plan would offer mental health services to students, as well as mentoring.

5. National Paid Family and Medical Leave

Over ten years, the American Families Plan hopes to institute a national paid family and medical leave program that would offer 12 weeks of benefits up to $4,000 per month. This would give people the chance to recuperate after giving birth, suffering an illness, having to care for a loved one, etc.