POLICY BRIEFINGS

USMCA Approved by Senate, Awaits Canadian Passage


The Senate passed the legislation to ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) last week by a vote of 89-10. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). voted against the proposed trade pact. The Democrats who voted against the measure cited concerns about weak environmental standards, while Sen. Toomey argued that the agreement would increase prices for American consumers. The overhaul of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was approved by the Senate Finance Committee and six other panels earlier in the week. It will now be sent to the President’s desk for his signature but will not go into full effect until it is approved by Canada. The Canadian parliament will reconvene later this month, where the deal is expected to pass. The USMCA is projected to add 0.35 percent to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) after six years.


Recently Introduced Health Legislation


H.R.5575 — To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage to provide for 3 primary care visits and 3 behavioral health care visits without application of any cost-sharing requirement; Sponsor: Rep. Underwood, Lauren [D-IL-14]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce; Education and Labor; Ways and Means

H.R.5578 — To provide for the mandatory recall of drugs regulated by the Food and Drug Administration; Sponsor: Rep. DeLauro, Rosa L. [D-CT-3]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.5582 — To amend titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act to require hospitals and certain other participating providers under Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program to disclose the provider’s policy on parental consent for the provision, withdrawal, or denial of life-sustaining treatment for minors, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Murphy, Gregory [R-NC-3]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.5587 — To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the regulation of hemp-derived cannabidiol and hemp-derived cannabidiol containing substances; Sponsor: Rep. Peterson, Collin C. [D-MN-7]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce; Agriculture

H.R.5590 — To amend title 38, United States Code, to treat certain individuals who served in Vietnam as a member of the armed forces of the Republic of Korea as a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States for purposes of the provision of health care by the Department of Veterans Affairs; Sponsor: Rep. Cisneros, Gilbert Ray, Jr. [D-CA-39]; Committees: House - Veterans’ Affairs

S.3182 — A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out the Women’s Health Transition Training pilot program through at least fiscal year 2020, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK]; Committees: Senate - Veterans’ Affairs

H.Res.794 — Supporting the designation of January 2020 as “National One Health Awareness Month” to promote awareness of organizations focused on public health, animal health, and environmental health collaboration throughout the United States and to recognize the critical contributions of those organizations to the future of the United States; Sponsor: Rep. Schrader, Kurt [D-OR-5]; Committees: House - Oversight and Reform

H.R.5596 — To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand and improve health savings accounts, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Roy, Chip [R-TX-21]; Committees: House - Ways and Means

S.3193 — A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to list fentanyl-related substances as schedule I controlled substances, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]; Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.

H.R.5610 — To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand the list of diseases presumed to have a service connection to exposure to certain herbicide agents; Sponsor: Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-10]; Committees: House - Veterans’ Affairs

H.R.5611 — To promote State requirements for local educational agencies and public elementary and secondary schools relating to the prevention and treatment of concussions suffered by students; Sponsor: Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-11]; Committees: House - Education and Labor

H.R.5616 — To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress reports on patient safety and quality of care at medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1]; Committees: House - Veterans’ Affairs

H.R.5619 — To authorize a pilot program to expand and intensify surveillance of self-harm in partnership with State and local public health departments, to establish a grant program to provide self-harm and suicide prevention services in hospital emergency departments, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Stewart, Chris [R-UT-2]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

S.3194 — A bill to establish a program ensuring access to accredited continuing medical education for primary care physicians and other health care providers at Federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics, to provide training and clinical support for primary care providers to practice at their full scope and improve access to care for patients in underserved areas; Sponsor: Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.3195 — A bill to require the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to review the records of former members of the Armed Forces who die by suicide within one year of separation from the Armed Forces and to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit a report on the REACH VET program; Sponsor: Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]; Committees: Senate - Veterans’ Affairs

S.3198 — A bill to authorize a pilot program to expand and intensify surveillance of self-harm in partnership with State and local public health departments, to establish a grant program to provide self-harm and suicide prevention services in hospital emergency departments, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.3200 — A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit high deductible health plans to provide chronic disease prevention services to plan enrollees prior to satisfying their plan deductible; Sponsor: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]; Committees: Senate – Finance

H.R.5631 — To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide grants to medical and other health profession schools to expand or develop education and training programs for substance use prevention and treatment, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Kim, Andy [D-NJ-3]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.5632 — To establish procedures regarding the approval of opioid drugs by the Food and Drug Administration; Sponsor: Rep. Kim, Andy [D-NJ-3]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.5633 — To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to provide for a public education campaign for the promotion outreach and education campaign to raise public awareness of synthetic opioids; Sponsor: Rep. Kim, Andy [D-NJ-3]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.5637 — To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish presumptions of service connection for diseases associated with firefighting; Sponsor: Rep. Spanberger, Abigail Davis [D-VA-7]; Committees: House - Veterans’ Affairs

H.R.5640 — To require the Federal Communications Commission to incorporate data on maternal health outcomes into its broadband health maps; Sponsor: Rep. Butterfield, G. K. [D-NC-1]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.5648 — To direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to furnish stellate ganglion block to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder; Sponsor: Rep. Perry, Scott [R-PA-10]; Committees: House - Veterans’ Affairs

S.3201 — A bill to extend the temporary scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC]; Latest Action: Message on Senate action sent to the House.

S.3203 — A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to codify the requirements for appointment, qualifications, and pay for therapeutic medical physicists of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA]; Committees: Senate - Veterans’ Affairs

S.3210 — A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to develop a clinical practice guideline or guidelines for the treatment of serious mental illness; Sponsor: Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]; Committees: Senate - Veterans’ Affairs

S.3216 — A bill to amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act to prohibit group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage from imposing cost-sharing requirements or treatment limitations with respect to diagnostic examinations for breast cancer that are less favorable than such requirements with respect to screening examinations for breast cancer; Sponsor: Sen. Blunt, Roy [R-MO]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions



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SERVICES



BRIEFING ARCHIVE

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 +  2021

 +  2020

 +  2019

 +  2018