Sen. Shelley Moore Capito

Maddy summaryThis bill eliminates waiting periods for disability benefits and Medicare coverage for people diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. It amends two sections of the Social Security Act to add "metastatic breast cancer" to the list of conditions (alongside ALS) that qualify for immediate access to disability insurance benefits and Medicare coverage, bypassing the standard 24-month waiting period. Specifically, it modifies eligibility under Section 223(a) for disability benefits and Section 226(h) for Medicare coverage. The changes apply to applications or benefits filed/beginning after the bill's enactment date.

Maddy summarySRES 57 is a Senate resolution honoring David Ferdinand Durenberger, a former U.S. Senator from Minnesota (served 1978-1989). It commemorates his life and career, highlighting his role as the lead Republican sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act and his work protecting Minnesota's natural resources like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The resolution directs the Senate to formally recognize his passing and transmit a copy to his family. This is a ceremonial resolution with no policy changes or direct impact on constituents.

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to honor Navy pilot Everett Alvarez, Jr., for his service as a Vietnam War POW and subsequent public service. It directs the Speaker of the House and Senate President pro tempore to arrange for the medal's presentation, specifying it must bear his name and image. Bronze duplicates may be sold to cover production costs, with proceeds deposited into the U.S. Mint fund. The bill is purely ceremonial, recognizing Alvarez's 8+ years as a prisoner of war and his post-military career. It does not create new policies or affect any government programs.

Maddy summaryThe Safe Step Act requires health insurance plans and employer-sponsored health coverage to create a transparent process for patients or their doctors to request exceptions to medication step therapy protocols. These protocols typically mandate trying a lower-cost drug first before covering a more expensive alternative. Exceptions must be approved if previous treatments failed, delaying coverage would cause severe harm, the required drug is unsafe, or the patient is stable on the requested drug. Health plans must respond to requests within 72 hours (or 24 hours in emergencies) and make the process details available online.

Maddy summaryS 626, the Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act, establishes a new Medicare model to provide coordinated care management for beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia. It directly affects Medicare Part A/B enrollees (not in Part C or hospice) and their unpaid caregivers by requiring eligible entities like health systems or ACOs to deliver comprehensive services including continuous monitoring, personalized care plans, medication management, and caregiver support. Key provisions include assigning patients to care pathways based on health needs, requiring zero cost-sharing for beneficiaries, and paying providers via capitated payments with quality-based bonuses. The model aims to test whether this approach improves health outcomes, caregiver experience, and reduces Medicare spending without lowering care quality.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the Hydrogen Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (HIFIA) pilot program to fund hydrogen infrastructure projects. It provides grants and low-cost loans (up to 80% of costs) to eligible entities like corporations, governments, and nonprofits building hydrogen pipelines, storage, or delivery systems - especially projects retrofitted for hydrogen blends or new pure-hydrogen lines. Priority is given to projects reducing emissions, minimizing environmental impact, serving disadvantaged communities, and creating U.S. jobs. The program requires mandatory leak monitoring and limits annual federal funding to $100 million for fiscal years 2024-2028.

Maddy summarySRES 90 designates March 2023 as "Endometriosis Awareness Month" and recognizes endometriosis as a chronic disease affecting millions of women in the U.S. The resolution specifically targets women with endometriosis - impacting roughly 1 in 10 women of reproductive age - and highlights the disease's debilitating symptoms, diagnostic delays, and healthcare burden. It requests federal health agencies (HHS, Defense, Veterans Affairs) to improve public education, update treatment resources, and advance research on endometriosis. As a non-binding resolution, it focuses on raising awareness and encouraging agency action, not enacting new laws or funding.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits federally funded schools and athletic programs from allowing individuals assigned male at birth to participate in women's or girls' sports teams. It defines "sex" for this purpose solely based on biological sex assigned at birth, including reproductive anatomy and genetics. The law amends Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to make such participation a violation of federal civil rights law. It directly affects all schools, colleges, and organizations receiving federal funds that operate athletic programs for women or girls.

Maddy summaryThis bill changes how often federal credit unions must hold board meetings based on their performance ratings. For all federal credit unions, boards must meet at least monthly for the first 5 years after their charter is approved. After that, credit unions rated 1 or 2 (highest performance) must meet at least 6 times yearly (with one per quarter), while those rated 3-5 must meet monthly. The bill directly affects all federal credit unions by adjusting their board meeting requirements according to their Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System score. These changes aim to align meeting frequency with credit union performance and oversight needs.

Maddy summaryThis bill directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to study and report on practices in the pharmaceutical supply chain, focusing on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and their impact on drug pricing. The FTC must submit an interim report within 180 days and a full report within one year, examining issues like whether PBMs steer patients to pharmacies they own, use proprietary data for competitive advantage, or design formularies to favor higher-cost drugs. The reports will also assess competition in the supply chain, legal barriers to enforcement, and the FTC’s ability to address anticompetitive behavior by drug manufacturers. The goal is to identify transparency gaps and recommend policy changes to improve competition and ensure consumers benefit from cost savings.