Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2021 This bill repeals provisions under the Stark law (i.e., the Physician Self-Referral Law) that limit, for purposes of Medicare participation, self-referrals by newly constructed or expanded physician-owned hospitals.
Broadening Online Opportunities through Simple Technologies Act or the BOOST Act This bill allows an individual taxpayer to elect a tax credit for 75% of qualified signal booster expenditures up to $400 in a single taxable year through 2025. The bill defines qualified signal booster expenditures as amounts paid for the purchase of any communications signal booster for use by the taxpayer in a principal residence located in an underserved area. The booster is designed to increase the strength or range of a broadband communications signal.
Promoting Women in Trucking Workforce Act This bill directs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to establish and facilitate a Women of Trucking Advisory Board to promote organizations and programs that (1) provide education, training, mentorship, or outreach to women in the trucking industry; and (2) recruit, retain, or advance women into the trucking industry.
Coronavirus Medicaid Response Act This bill increases the Medicaid federal matching rate, also known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), for states and U.S. territories that experience economic downturns (i.e., high unemployment) beginning on or after January 1, 2020, in accordance with specified requirements and limitations. The bill's increase is in addition to previously enacted FMAP increases relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) but may not result in an FMAP greater than 95%.
Grants for Eliminating the Toxic Hazard of Environmental Lead in Our Towns Act of 2021 or GET THE LEAD OUT Act of 2021 This bill addresses lead-based hazards in housing. It also modifies the tax treatment of carried interest, which is compensation that is typically received by a partner of a private equity or hedge fund and is based on a share of the fund's profits, and the estate tax. The bill modifies the tax treatment of carried interest by requiring it to be included in gross income and taxed as ordinary income, with certain exceptions. Under current law, carried interest is taxed as investment income. In addition, the bill reduces the estate tax exemption amount from $10 million to $5 million. With respect to lead-based hazards, the bill allows the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide grants to state and local governments to reduce lead-based pipe hazards in housing. Additionally, HUD must require risk assessments, inspections, interim controls, and abatement of these hazards in federally assisted housing. HUD and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must require the disclosure of such hazards in housing that is for sale or lease. Persons that fail to disclose such hazards are subject to civil penalties from HUD and may be liable to purchasers or lessees for damages. Additionally, the EPA must ensure that individuals who work with lead-based pipes have proper training and certification. States may enforce and administer such training and certification programs upon receiving EPA approval.
Children's Health Insurance Program Pandemic Enhancement and Relief Act or the CHIPPER Act This bill extends through FY2022 the 11.5% increase to the enhanced federal matching rate, also known as the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), that is otherwise applicable under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), subject to specified conditions. For example, in order to receive the increased FMAP in FY2021 and FY2022, a state must cover, without cost-sharing, testing and treatment for COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), including vaccines, specialized equipment, and therapies.
This concurrent resolution (1) affirms, on the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first slave ship, that the nation owes a debt of remembrance not only to those who lived through the injustices of slavery but also to their descendants; and (2) urges the establishment of a U.S. Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation to properly acknowledge, memorialize, and be a catalyst for progress, including toward permanently eliminating persistent racial inequities.
This resolution honors the life and legacy of former Representative John Robert Lewis and commends his achievements in the struggle for civil rights.
Lifting Our Communities through Advance Liquidity for Infrastructure Act or the LOCAL Infrastructure Act This bill reinstates tax provisions relating to advance refunding bonds. An advance refunding bond is a tax-exempt bond issued by a state or municipality to refinance or consolidate existing bond obligations.
Safe Step Act This bill requires a group health plan to establish an exception to medication step-therapy protocol in specified cases. A medication step-therapy protocol establishes a specific sequence in which prescription drugs are covered by a group health plan or a health insurance issuer. A request for such an exception to the protocol must be granted if (1) an otherwise required treatment has been ineffective, (2) such treatment is expected to be ineffective and delaying effective treatment would lead to irreversible consequences, (3) such treatment will cause or is likely to cause an adverse reaction to the individual, (4) such treatment is expected to prevent the individual from performing daily activities or occupational responsibilities, (5) the individual is stable based on the prescription drugs already selected, or (6) there are other circumstances as determined by the Employee Benefits Security Administration. The bill requires a group health plan to implement and make readily available a clear process for an individual to request an exception to the protocol, including required information and criteria for granting an exception. The bill further specifies timelines under which plans must respond to such requests.
Coronavirus Medicaid Response Act This bill increases the Medicaid federal matching rate, also known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), for states and U.S. territories that experience economic downturns (i.e., high unemployment) beginning on or after January 1, 2020, in accordance with specified requirements and limitations. The bill's increase is in addition to previously enacted FMAP increases relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) but may not result in an FMAP greater than 95%.
Emergency Funding for Child Protection Act This bill funds additional grants to states for child abuse or neglect prevention and treatment programs in response to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. Specifically, states may use such grants to expand services, provide support to community-based organizations, purchase emergency supplies, and provide temporary direct payments to families caring for children under protective services supervision that are awaiting approval for government assistance, among other uses. The bill does not require states to match funding under these grants. The bill also provides funding to operate and expand the national child abuse hotline.
