Help Independent Tracks Succeed Act or the HITS Act This bill permits taxpayers to treat as currently deductible expenses the cost of qualified sound recording productions not exceeding $150,000 in a taxable year. The bill defines qualified sound recording production as certain sound recordings produced and recorded in the United States.
Student Loan Refinancing and Recalculation Act This bill provides for the refinancing or deferral of certain federal student loans. Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Education to establish a program to refinance the outstanding principal, interest, and late charges on federal student loans in order to give borrowers fixed interest rates equal to the 10-year Treasury note rate plus one percentage point. Further, the bill eliminates origination fees on the loans. In addition, the bill allows borrowers in medical, veterinary, or dental internship or residency programs to defer student loan payments until the completion of their programs.
U.S.A. Electrify Forward Act This bill provides incentives (e.g., grants and loans) for the development, production, manufacturing, and distribution of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure for such vehicles.
Expand Navigators' Resources for Outreach, Learning, and Longevity Act of 20 21 or the ENROLL Act of 20 21 This bill makes several changes to the navigator program for health insurance exchanges (a program through which entities receive funding to provide education and enrollment assistance). Specifically, the bill addresses certain funding decisions and regulatory actions taken by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). For example, the bill increases funding for navigators in federally facilitated exchanges (FFEs) beginning in FY2022. (The CMS decreased annual funding for FFE navigators for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 program years.) The bill also counters guidance issued by the CMS regarding navigator criteria by requiring FFE navigators to be chosen without regard to how the entity provides information about association health plans or short-term, limited-duration insurance. The bill also reinstates certain requirements that were removed by the CMS in 2018. Specifically, the bill requires (1) at least two navigators in each FFE, including at least one community and consumer-focused nonprofit group; and (2) that navigators be physically present in the state where the exchange is located.
Improving Access to Indian Health Services Act This bill permanently extends certain Medicaid flexibilities relating to Indian health care providers. Specifically, the bill permanently expands coverage to include clinical services that are furnished outside of a clinic by an Indian Health Service (IHS) facility, a tribe or tribal organization, or an Urban Indian Organization (UIO). Current guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services allows IHS and tribal facilities to receive payment for clinical services provided outside of clinics through October 31, 2021; facilities are expected to work with their state Medicaid programs to transition to other, more permanent payment options for these services. The bill also permanently establishes a 100% federal matching rate, also known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), for UIO services. Current law provides a 100% FMAP for UIO services during the eight fiscal quarters after March 11, 2021.
Rural and Underserved Small Hospital Protection Act of 2021 or the RUSH Protection Act of 2021 This bill applies certain modified payment limits to rural health clinics that temporarily enrolled in Medicare during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) or that applied to enroll by December 31, 2020. The bill applies retroactively.
Advancing Education on Biosimilars Act of 2021 This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to advance education and awareness among health care providers about biological products as appropriate, including by developing or improving continuing education programs that address the prescribing of biological products and biosimilars. (A biosimilar is a biological product that is highly similar to an FDA-approved reference biological product and has no clinically meaningful differences from that reference product.) The FDA may also maintain and operate a website to provide educational materials about biological products.
State Health Care Premium Reduction Act of 2021 This bill establishes and provides funding for the Improve Health Insurance Affordability Fund. States must use allocated funds to (1) issue reinsurance payments to health insurers (i.e., reimbursements to protect insurers against exceedingly high claims) for individual health insurance coverage, or (2) provide other assistance to reduce out-of-pocket costs (e.g., copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles) for qualified health plans offered in the individual market through an exchange. Reinsurance payments using such funds may not be applied to (1) grandfathered health plans in place on March 23, 2010, (2) non-grandfathered transitional plans meeting specified requirements identified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), or (3) student health insurance plans provided by institutions of higher education. The bill appropriates $10 billion per year for the fund, which the CMS must distribute to states in accordance with a specified methodology based on the estimated amount of reinsurance payments for individuals in a state during the given year, subject to specified deductions. Additionally, states must submit applications explaining how they will use such funds. In the event that a state does not submit an application, the bill directs the CMS to allocate the calculated funding amount to reinsurance programs in that state.
Environmental Justice for Coronavirus Affected Communities Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2022 (1) the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program; (2) the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program, which provides financial assistance to address local environmental or public health issues; and (3) the Community Action for a Renewed Environment grant program, which assists communities address multiple sources of toxic pollutants.
Marketing and Outreach Restoration to Empower Health Education Act of 2021 or the MORE Health Education Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct outreach and reporting related to federally facilitated exchanges (i.e., health insurance exchanges established and operated within states by HHS). The activities must inform potential enrollees of the availability of coverage and related financial assistance under the exchanges and must be provided in culturally and linguistically appropriate formats. The bill provides funding for the activities. Beginning for plan year 2022, HHS also must publish biweekly reports that include specified metrics about the performance of such exchanges during each annual open enrollment period. Further, after each open enrollment period, HHS must report on how many consumers enrolled in coverage with assistance from patient navigators, the advertising and outreach expenses related to raising awareness about open enrollment, and the amount of monthly user fees collected during the plan year.
Health Care Enrollment Innovation Act This bill funds and requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to states for promoting greater enrollment in health insurance coverage. Grants may be used by the state's primary health and human services agency for activities such as automatically enrolling uninsured individuals who are eligible for premium assistance tax credits in plans through the individual or small group market and establishing a state-level requirement for individuals to enroll in coverage.
Children’s Health Insurance Program Permanency Act or the CHIPP Act This bill permanently extends the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and related measures, programs, and authorities. Specifically, the bill permanently funds CHIP and related programs that support the development of child health quality measures and outreach and enrollment efforts. The bill also permanently authorizes the Medicaid and CHIP express lane eligibility option, which allows states to use information from designated programs (e.g., the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) to streamline eligibility determinations for children. Additionally, under the bill, states may expand eligibility to children whose family income exceeds the otherwise applicable limits.
