POLICY BRIEFINGS

Upcoming Congressional Committee Activity

Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing to examine the nomination of Neera Tanden, of Massachusetts, to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget; 9:30 a.m., 342 Dirksen Bldg.; February 9

Senate Budget Committee hearing to examine the nomination of Neera Tanden, of Massachusetts, to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget; 10:00 a.m., 608 Dirksen Bldg.; February 10

House Committee on Homeland Security hearing “Assessing Cyber Threats and Building Resilience;” 2:00 p.m., Virtual; February 10

Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee executive session to consider the nominations of Miguel Cardona to serve as Secretary of Education and Marty Walsh to serve as Secretary of Labor; 10:00 a.m., 430 Dirksen Bldg.; February 11

Recently Introduced Health Legislation

H.Res.86 — Expressing support for frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic; Sponsor: Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D- CA-24]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.Res.88 — Recognizing women’s cardiovascular health as a critical health care priority that affects every State and contributes to increased health care costs, and promoting the necessity of increased awareness of and education on the symptoms for heart disease among women, gender-specific cardiovascular disease research, and policy action to alleviate the risks of heart disease among women; Sponsor: Rep. Herrera Beutler, Jaime [R-WA-3]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.688 — To permit a licensed health care provider to provide health care services to individuals in one or more States in which the provider is not licensed; Sponsor: Rep. Budd, Ted [R-NC-13]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.689 — To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a Patient and State Stability Fund; Sponsor: Rep. Burgess, Michael C. [R-TX-26]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce; Ways and Means

H.R.706 — To authorize grants to address substance use during COVID-19; Sponsor: Rep. Kuster, Ann M. [D-NH-2]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.708 — To provide temporary licensing reciprocity for telehealth and interstate health care treatment; Sponsor: Rep. Latta, Robert E. [R-OH-5]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.719 — To allow States to approve the use of diagnostic tests during a public health emergency; Sponsor: Rep. McHenry, Patrick T. [R-NC-10]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.721 — To amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend projects relating to children and to provide access to school-based comprehensive mental health programs; Sponsor: Rep. Napolitano, Grace F. [D-CA-32]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.722 — To amend titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act to require coverage under the Medicaid program and Children’s Health Insurance Program for vaccines and treatment for COVID-19 without the imposition of cost sharing requirements, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Pappas, Chris [D-NH-1]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.724 — To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for reciprocal marketing approval of certain drugs, biological products, and devices that are authorized to be lawfully marketed abroad, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Roy, Chip [R-TX-21]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.725 — 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

H.R.726 — To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities to conduct diagnostic testing for COVID-19, and related activities such as contact tracing, through mobile health units and, as necessary, at individuals’ residences, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL-1]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.727 — To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure communications accessibility for residents of skilled nursing facilities during the COVID-19 emergency period; Sponsor: Rep. Sanchez, Linda T. [D-CA-38]; Committees: House - Ways and Means

H.R.728 — To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Emergency Office of Manufacturing for Public Health, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.736 — To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to covered health departments to increase the rate of recommended immunizations, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Underwood, Lauren [D-IL-14]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.738 — To require employers to pay essential pay to health care employees during public health emergencies, and to provide a tax credit for the cost of such pay; Sponsor: Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12]; Committees: House - Ways and Means; Education and Labor

S.149 — A bill to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to provide Secretarial authority to temporarily waive or modify application of certain Medicare requirements with respect to ambulance services furnished during certain emergency periods; Sponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]; Committees: Senate – Finance

S.150 — A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the inclusion of certain audio-only diagnoses in the determination of risk adjustment for Medicare Advantage plans, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]; Committees: Senate – Finance

S.151 — A bill to provide for an emergency increase in Federal funding to State Medicaid programs for expenditures on home and community-based services; Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]; Committees: Senate – Finance

S.152 — A bill to allow States to approve the use of diagnostic tests during a public health emergency; Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.153 — A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand and improve health savings accounts, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]; Committees: Senate – Finance

S.154 — A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for reciprocal marketing approval of certain drugs, biological products, and devices that are authorized to be lawfully marketed abroad, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.155 — A bill to permit a licensed health care provider to provide health care services to individuals in one or more States in which the provider is not licensed; Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.157 — A bill to provide funding for the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use to award grants for the purpose of supporting virtual peer behavioral health support services, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.162 — A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for public health research and investment into understanding and eliminating structural racism and police violence; Sponsor: Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.164 — A bill to educate health care providers and the public on biosimilar biological products, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.165 — A bill to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States, political subdivisions of States, Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations, community-based entities, and primary care and behavioral health organizations to address behavioral health needs caused by the public health emergency declared with respect to COVID-19; Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.166 — A bill to authorize grants to address substance use during COVID-19; Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.167 — A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to covered health departments to increase the rate of recommended immunizations, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.168 — A bill to provide temporary licensing reciprocity for telehealth and interstate health care treatment; Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.176 — A bill to require a longitudinal study on the impact of COVID-19; Sponsor: Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.179 — A bill to authorize the appropriation of an additional $10,000,000,000 to secure critical materials and supplies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic; Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

H.Res.93 — Calling for the establishment of a new unit of the National Institutes of Health, to be known as The National Institute of Viral Diseases, to increase research in the field of viral disease causes, prevention, and treatment; Sponsor: Rep. Kaptur, Marcy [D-OH-9]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.746 — To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to secure medical opinions for veterans with service-connected disabilities who die from COVID-19 to determine whether their service-connected disabilities were the principal or contributory causes of death, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Davidson, Warren [R-OH-8]; Committees: House - Veterans’ Affairs

H.R.747 — To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants for acquiring equipment and supplies capable of performing same-day clinical laboratory testing in a point-of-care setting, and to assist laboratories in meeting the cost of acquiring high-throughput equipment, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. DeGette, Diana [D-CO-1]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.769 — To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve obstetric care in rural areas; Sponsor: Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.771 — To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide funding for State strike teams for resident and employee safety in skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities; Sponsor: Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-20]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.773 — To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to institute a 1-year waiting period before medical debt will be reported on a consumer’s credit report and to remove paid-off and settled medical debts from credit reports that have been fully paid or settled, to amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to provide a timetable for verification of medical debt and to increase the efficiency of credit markets with more perfect information, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Porter, Katie [D-CA-45]; Committees: House - Financial Services

H.R.778 — To authorize the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award grants to eligible State, Tribal, and territorial public health agencies to develop and administer a program for digital contact tracing for COVID-19, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Speier, Jackie [D-CA-14]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.780 — To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the continued implementation of the Climate and Health program by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Sponsor: Rep. Underwood, Lauren [D-IL-14]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

S.187 — A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Emergency Office of Manufacturing for Public Health, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.188 — A bill to create a Coronavirus Containment Corps; Sponsor: Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.198 — A bill to require the Federal Communications Commission to incorporate data on maternal health outcomes into its broadband health maps; Sponsor: Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV]; Committees: Senate - Commerce, Science, and Transportation

S.199 — A bill to authorize the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award grants to eligible State, Tribal, and territorial public health agencies to develop and administer a program for digital contact tracing for COVID-19, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.200 — A bill to provide State and local workforce and career and technical education systems the support to respond to the COVID-19 national emergency; Sponsor: Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.201 — 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.202 — A bill to ensure that veterans receive timely and effective emergency treatment during the COVID-19 emergency, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]; Committees: Senate - Veterans’ Affairs

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