DMEPOS Relief Act of 2022 or the DRA of 2022 This bill increases payment adjustments for certain items that were included in Round 2021 of the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program but for which contracts were not executed. The bill applies to items that are furnished between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023, and that were not subject to the unadjusted fee schedule amount as of January 1, 2021. Under the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sets payment for certain durable medical equipment under Medicare based on a competitive bidding process with suppliers, rather than the fee schedule amount. The CMS included 16 product categories in Round 2021 of the program but ultimately did not award contracts for 13 of these categories (that were also in previous rounds) as the resulting payment amounts did not achieve expected savings.
Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act This bill expands and otherwise modifies coverage of telehealth services under Medicare until two years after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Specifically, the bill (1) allows federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to serve as the distant site (i.e., the location of the health care practitioner), (2) allows for Medicare payment of outpatient critical access hospital services consisting of telehealth behavioral therapy, (3) conditions payment for certain high-cost laboratory tests and durable medical equipment that are ordered via telehealth on at least one in-person visit during the preceding 12-month period, and (4) allows Schedule II through V controlled substances to be prescribed online if a practitioner has conducted a telehealth evaluation with video. The bill also generally extends any Medicare telehealth flexibilities that were granted during the COVID-19 public health emergency until two years after the emergency ends. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must report on the effects of changes that were made during the emergency period with respect to the provision or availability of telehealth services under Medicare. The CMS must also award grants to state Medicaid programs to allow them to report on similar information.
Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act This bill establishes a pilot program to award competitive grants to school food authorities and local educational agencies for activities that promote the use of ingredients that are unprocessed or minimally processed (i.e., scratch cooking) in school meals.
Keeping School Meals Flexible Act This bill extends authority through June 30, 2023, for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to waive certain requirements for the school meal programs to address COVID-19. The bill extends the authority for USDA to issue a single waiver of child nutrition program requirements to all states under the National School Lunch Program for purposes of providing meals and snacks with appropriate safety measures with respect to COVID-19; grant waivers of requirements to allow non-congregate feeding in the Child and Adult Care Food Program for purposes of providing meals and snacks with appropriate safety measures with respect to COVID-19; and grant waivers related to the nutritional content of meals served in child nutrition programs if it determines the waiver is necessary to provide meals and snacks, and there is a food supply chain disruption due to COVID-19.
Stop the Wait Act of 2022 This bill allows individuals with disabilities to begin receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits in the month they become eligible for the benefits. It also allows these individuals to immediately enroll in Medicare if they cannot afford minimum essential coverage. (Under current law, an individual must generally wait 5 months after the onset of disability to begin receiving SSDI benefits and an additional 24 months to become eligible for Medicare.)
Accelerating Charitable Efforts Act or the ACE Act This bill modifies tax rules relating to donor advised funds (DAFs) (separately identified funds maintained and operated by a tax-exempt charitable organization for which a donor retains advisory privileges with respect to the distribution of funds and the investment of assets). Specifically, the bill places certain restrictions on charitable contribution deductions for gifts made to a nonqualified DAF. It also sets forth rules for the treatment of private foundation administrative expenses paid to disqualified persons and for the treatment of distributions to DAFs from private foundations. The bill imposes a 50% penalty on contributions held in a DAF that are not timely distributed. The bill also sets forth special rules for the treatment of contributions from DAFs for purposes of meeting the public support test (the requirement that charitable organizations receive a certain percentage of their support from public sources). The bill exempts from the tax on the investment income of a private foundation (1) distributions to a DAF of not less than 7% of the foundation's assets, and (2) for foundations that have a duration, specified in their governing documents, of not more than 25 years.
VA Same-Day Scheduling Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that when a veteran enrolled in the VA health care system contacts the VA by telephone to schedule an appointment for care or services at a VA facility, the scheduling for the appointment occurs during that telephone call.
Patients' Right to Know Their Medication Act of 2022 This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue regulations concerning the patient medication information that is included in the labeling for prescription medications. The regulations must impose various requirements, such as requiring the information to (1) be scientifically accurate and approved by the FDA; (2) include general directions for proper use and warnings that are written in understandable plain language; (3) contain information about known clinically important interactions with drugs, food, and other substances; (4) include a statement of whether there is sufficient data about the drug's use by specified subpopulations, such as children or pregnant women; and (5) be provided in a printed format with each prescription dispensed. The bill prohibits prescription medications that fail to meet this bill's requirements.
Healthy Meal Time Act of 20 22 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enter into an agreement with an independent, nonpartisan, science-based research organization to carry out a study on the time lunches are served, the time that recess is offered, and the duration of lunch periods at schools participating in the National School Lunch Program. USDA must also make the findings of the study publicly available online; establish a task force, in coordination with the Department of Education, to review the study, review other related research, and develop best practices for lunch and recess periods to ensure student health, including appropriate nutritional intake; and issue guidance regarding such best practices to schools participating in the National School Lunch Program.
Stopping Corrupt Actors from Making Political Action Committees Act or the SCAM PAC Act This bill generally prohibits a political committee from disbursing funds to an entity that is owned or controlled by an individual, or the immediate family member of an individual, who has authority to carry out specified activities for the committee (e.g., soliciting funds) or is employed by the committee to provide it with professional services. This prohibition does not apply to (1) a political committee that certifies that a majority of the funds disbursed by the committee were for expenses other than administrative costs, fundraising costs, and employee salaries; or (2) an authorized committee of a candidate, a committee of a political party, or a separate segregated fund of a corporation or labor organization. Further, the bill prohibits a political committee from employing these individuals or allowing them to volunteer on its behalf if the related entity accepted funds from a political committee.
This resolution expresses support for the goals and ideals of PCOS Awareness Month. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is caused by a hormone imbalance. Symptoms can include infertility, weight gain, excess hair growth, and acne.
Cybersecurity Opportunity Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to award grants to specified institutions of higher education for establishing or expanding cybersecurity education programs and opportunities. Eligible institutions include minority-serving institutions and historically Black colleges and universities, and grant recipients may use the funds to increase research, education, technical, partnership, and innovation capacity for cybersecurity programs, research, and training experiences.
