Supporting Best Practices for Healthy Moms Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to publish and periodically update guidance for hospitals, freestanding birth centers, and other maternal care providers on ways to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The CMS must also report on the Medicaid payment methodologies that apply to facility transfers of pregnant women.
Visa Security Act This bill limits the validity period of B-1 (business visitor) and B-2 (tourist) visas issued to Chinese nationals until the Department of State makes certain certifications to Congress regarding the Chinese government. Specifically, the State Department may not issue such a visa with a validity period of more than one year unless it certifies to Congress that the Chinese government has taken certain actions, including (1) stopping its campaign of economic and industrial espionage against the United States; (2) ending its provocative and coercive behavior towards Taiwan; (3) withdrawing its national security law in Hong Kong and upholding its obligations to respect Hong Kong's autonomy; and (4) ending its systematic oppression of minority ethnic groups in China, including the Uyghurs and Tibetans. (Currently, such visas may be valid for up to 10 years.) These restrictions shall not apply to visa applicants from Taiwan or certain applicants from Hong Kong, generally those Hong Kong residents that the State Department has no reason to believe are acting on behalf of the Chinese government. (Taiwan is self-governing but the Chinese government considers it a part of China, while Hong Kong is a part of China but is supposed to have a largely separate legal and economic system.)
Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2021 This bill exempts traditional large and premium cigars from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation and FDA-assessed user fees.
National Right-to-Work Act This bill repeals those provisions of the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act that permit employers to make an agreement with a labor union to require employees to join such union as a condition of employment. Currently, at least 27 states have enacted laws prohibiting employers from compelling employees to become members of a union as a condition of employment.
National Right-to-Work Act This bill repeals those provisions of the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act that permit employers to make an agreement with a labor union to require employees to join such union as a condition of employment. Currently, at least 27 states have enacted laws prohibiting employers from compelling employees to become members of a union as a condition of employment.
Fair and Open Competition Act or the FOCA Act This bill prohibits federal construction contracts or controlling documents for federally supported construction projects from requiring or prohibiting project labor agreements. Such documents also may not discriminate against or give preference to a bidder or contractor who signs or refuses to sign a project labor agreement. An agency may exempt a project from this prohibition to avert an imminent threat to public health or safety or to serve the national security.
Gold Star Altitude Act This bill authorizes the Department of Defense to offer, on a space-available basis, transportation on military aircraft to the children, surviving spouses, parents, and siblings of members of the Armed Forces who die during active service.
American Innovation and R&D Competitiveness Act of 2021 This bill eliminates the five-year amortization requirement for research and experimental expenditures scheduled to begin in 2022, thus allowing continued expensing of such expenditures in the taxable years in which they are incurred.
Prohibit Auto Insurance Discrimination Act or the PAID Act This bill prohibits an automobile insurer from considering specified factors when determining a consumer's insurance rates or eligibility. These prohibited factors include gender, employment status, zip code, census tract, marital status, and credit score. Automobile insurers must make underwriting rules and rate filings available to the public. The Federal Trade Commission may enforce a violation of these requirements as an unfair or deceptive act or practice.
Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act This bill expressly prohibits health care providers and other entities involved in matching donated organs with recipients from denying or restricting an individual's access to organ transplants solely on the basis of the individual's disability, except in limited circumstances. Specifically, these entities may consider an individual's disability when making decisions about transplants only if a physician finds, based on an individualized evaluation, that the individual's physical or mental disability is medically significant to the provision of the transplant. A disability shall not be considered medically significant if the individual has an adequate support system in place to comply with transplant-related medical requirements. These entities must also make reasonable changes to their policies to make transplants and related care more available to individuals with disabilities. Aggrieved individuals may bring claims of discrimination to the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services or before a federal court. The bill provides for expedited resolutions of these claims.
Medicare-X Choice Act of 20 21 This bill establishes and funds the Medicare Exchange health plan, which allows individuals who are not otherwise eligible for Medicare to enroll in a government-administered health insurance plan. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must offer such plan in certain individual health insurance exchanges beginning plan year 2022 and offer it in all individual health insurance exchanges beginning plan year 2025. CMS must offer the plan in the small group market in all geographic areas for plan year 2025. The plan must cover primary care services without cost sharing and meet the same requirements, including essential health benefits, as existing health insurance exchange plans. Unless they opt out, health care providers enrolled under Medicare or under a state Medicaid plan must participate in the plan and are reimbursed at Medicare rates. The bill establishes a grants program for community organizations, educational institutions, and health agencies to create service partnerships and establish interactive data systems for health care providers. Additionally, the bill expands the premium tax credit available for plans purchased through an exchange and eliminates the restriction on the Department of Health and Human Services negotiating prescription drug prices for Medicare.
Building COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Act of 2021 This bill establishes a program to disseminate information about COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) vaccinations. To carry out this program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must award grants to health departments and certain nonprofits. In awarding the grants, the CDC must coordinate with the Office of Minority Health and, as appropriate, other federal partners.
