How this calculator works
In the summer of 2020 the $600 federal unemployment supplement was about to expire and Congress considered two competing bills. Neither became law. The HEROES Act, passed by the House in May 2020, would have extended the full $600 a week supplement through the end of January 2021. The HEALS Act, a Senate Republican proposal from July 2020, would have paid $200 a week for a transition period, after which a state would move to a formula targeting 70% of the worker's previous wages when the state benefit is included, capped at $500 a week of federal money. The difference between the proposals is largest for low-wage workers: a flat $600 can exceed a worker's previous wage, while the 70% formula is by design proportional. For a worker whose state benefit is already close to 70% of prior wages, the HEALS formula adds little or nothing. This calculator applies both formulas to the same state benefit and prior wage, over the weeks remaining in the claim. The HEROES figures use the bill as passed by the House. The HEALS figures use the $200 transitional phase followed by the 70% formula, and you can choose how long the transition lasts, because the bill text left the timing partly to the states and later negotiation. Both are proposals, not entitlements: nobody received either amount, because the $300 supplement in the eventual December package replaced them.
Formula
HEROES weekly = state weekly benefit + $600. HEROES total = HEROES weekly x weeks. HEALS transitional weekly = state weekly benefit + $200. HEALS later weekly = state weekly benefit + min($500, max(0, 70% x previous weekly wage - state weekly benefit)). HEALS total = transitional weekly x transitional weeks + later weekly x remaining weeks. Difference = HEROES total - HEALS total.
Worked example
A worker with a $350 weekly state benefit, a previous weekly wage of $900 and 26 weeks remaining. Under the HEROES Act the weekly amount is $950 and the total is $24,700. Under the HEALS Act the first 8 weeks pay $550 and the later 18 weeks pay $350 + min($500, $630 - $350) = $630, so the total is $4,400 + $11,340 = $15,740. The HEROES Act would have paid $8,960 more. After the transition, the HEALS formula replaces 70% of the $900 prior wage.
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Frequently asked questions
Did either bill become law?
No. The HEROES Act passed the House but was not taken up by the Senate. The HEALS Act was a Senate proposal that was never enacted. The December 2020 package instead paid a $300 supplement for a limited period.
Why does the HEALS formula cap the federal top-up?
The cap of $500 a week limits the federal share for high earners whose 70% replacement target would otherwise require a large top-up. Together with the state benefit it keeps the total closer to prior wages than the flat $600 did.
Who would have gained most from the HEROES Act?
Workers with low previous wages, because a flat $600 is a larger share of a smaller wage. Some lower-wage workers would have received more on unemployment than they earned working, which was one of the arguments against the flat approach.
Who would have gained under the HEALS formula?
Workers with higher previous wages, because 70% of a larger wage can exceed $600, up to the $500 federal cap. A worker whose state benefit was already near the 70% target would have received little or nothing extra.
Is this calculator still useful?
It is a historical comparison of two proposals. It is useful for understanding how the design of a supplement changes who benefits, and it is not a guide to any current benefit.