Early Saturday morning, the House of Representatives pushed through an economic stimulus measure by a vote of 363-40 in response to the new coronavirus outbreak.

The deal between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Trump administration is expected to be passed in the Senate next week and then signed by President Donald Trump, who has tweeted his support of the measure. It provides free coronavirus testing for everyone, including the uninsured, as well as job protections for those who are quarantined due to the virus, among other measures.

The bill comes on the heels of an $8.3 billion emergency spending bill passed last week to deal with the coronavirus, or COVID-19, outbreak, which has been declared a pandemic.

“Between these two bills, we have an effective stimulus to the economy,” Pelosi said. Lawmakers are also promising more legislative measures in the weeks and months ahead perhaps to help the airline, hospitality, and entertainment industries.

View photos Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks to before the vote on the coronavirus aid package. Alex Wong/Getty Images) More

Trump declared a state of emergency on Friday to mobilize the federal government and funnel $50 billion to states and localities to respond to the crisis.

Here’s what’s in this round of Washington’s legislative response to the crisis and — most importantly — some hints from within the 110-page bill about how soon the measures may have an impact in communities struggling with this crisis.

Free coronavirus testing for everyone, including the uninsured

"The three most important parts of this bill are testing, testing, testing," Pelosi said Friday.

The lack of sufficient testing has been the centerpiece of the political debate and one the most urgent problems. However, it’s unclear how much faster this bill will get people tests who need them given the nationwide shortfall and a range of other ongoing measures to improve access. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that there are 1,689 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S., the numbers are likely higher because of inadequate testing.

“Don’t believe the numbers,” said Johns Hopkins University Professor Dr. Marty Makary said of the testing shortfall during an appearance on Yahoo Finance on Friday. “There are probably 25-50 people who have the virus for every one person who is confirmed.”

The just-passed bill has a range of provisions designed to increase testing.

It says that insurance companies shall not impose any costs on policyholders “beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.” Up until now, only a tiny fraction of the U.S. population has been getting tested.

It also creates a billion-dollar ‘‘Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund’’ to pay back the costs of testing services to people who lack health insurance.

The measure allocates money to places like Medicare, Medicaid, the Department of Defense, the Indian Health Services, and the Veterans Health Administration to speed up free testing among people who get healthcare through those institutions.

Representative Katie Porter earned widespread acclaim when — through persistent questioning — she got Robert Redfield, the director of the CDC, to say that tests for the coronavirus will be covered by insurance policies.

I did the math: a full battery of coronavirus testing costs at minimum $1,331.



I also did the legal research: the Administration has the authority to make testing free for every American TODAY.



I secured a commitment from a high-level Trump official that they’d actually do it. pic.twitter.com/RmolCtmNbG — Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) March 12, 2020

On a different front, the Trump administration also announced on Friday a series of steps to allow private labs more leeway in order to increase the testing capacity and approval for a private sector test — the Roche cobas SARS-CoV-2 Test — that could make testing 10 times faster.