Gym Mitigation and Survival Act of 2021 or the GYMS Act of 2021 This bill establishes a grant program to provide economic support to eligible fitness facilities in response to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. Specifically, the bill authorizes the Small Business Administration to make initial and supplemental grants to privately owned fitness facilities that primarily provide health or fitness services and that do not offer golf, hunting, sailing, or riding facilities. The total amount of grant funds for a recipient may not exceed $25 million, and the recipient must use these funds for payroll costs, rent or mortgage obligations, and other ordinary and necessary business expenses.
Expanding Medical Education Act This bill authorizes the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to award grants to institutions of higher education, or consortia of such institutions, to establish or expand medical schools. In awarding these grants, HRSA must prioritize minority-serving institutions or those that propose to establish or expand schools in medically underserved communities or areas with shortages of health professionals where no such schools exist.
Pandemics Require Evaluating, Planning, And Responding Effectively Act or the PREPARE Act This bill establishes the National Commission on the COVID-19 Pandemic in the legislative branch and sets out its duties and membership. The commission must investigate and report on the nation's preparedness for and response to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. It terminates 60 days after the submission of its final report. The bill exempts the commission from certain requirements that apply to federal advisory committees.
Promoting Restoration of Emergency Preparedness and Advancing Response to Epidemics in Long-Term Care Act or the PREPARE LTC Act This bill provides statutory authority for certain infection control and emergency preparedness requirements for Medicare skilled nursing facilities and Medicaid nursing facilities, and expands certain requirements to apply to other infectious disease outbreaks beyond COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Specifically, the bill provides statutory authority for regulations that require, and set standards for, infection control programs and emergency preparedness programs in such facilities. The bill requires facilities to report information concerning any infectious disease outbreak that results in a state or national emergency in accordance with the standards for COVID-19 reporting. It also prohibits the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from reducing the frequency of compliance surveys or waiving direct care staffing reports during such outbreaks. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must report on deficiencies relating to COVID-19 infection control and direct care staffing requirements for skilled nursing facilities.
Health Standards To Advance Transparency, Integrity, Science, Technology Infrastructure, and Confidential Statistics Act of 2021 or the Health STATISTICS Act of 2021 This bill requires efforts to standardize reporting of public health data, including for COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) data. It also expands access to federal databases for health research. Specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must develop uniform standards for health departments and other entities that report public health data. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may award grants to entities for adopting the uniform standards and otherwise improving their reporting capabilities. Furthermore, the CDC must, in consultation with the National Institutes of Health, establish specific standards within 30 days for reporting COVID-19 data. HHS must also disseminate this data subject to privacy and other requirements. Additionally, the Office of Management and Budget must issue guidance on federal health data collection that covers, for example, ensuring data quality and increasing access to health data for research. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) must carry out a demonstration program to expand an existing program that links different federal data sets for statistical public health research, including research on food insecurity, housing instability, and other social determinants of health. In particular, the program must link to the National Death Index, a database of death records maintained by the NCHS. Finally, the bill requires the CDC to award grants to research entities and public health departments to increase their capacity for conducting statistical public health research.
Protecting Residents with Oversight, Transparency, and Enforcement for Compassionate Treatment in Long Term Care Facilities Act or the PROTECT Long Term Care Facilities Act This bill establishes a series of requirements for Medicare skilled nursing facilities and Medicaid nursing facilities during declared emergencies relating to infectious disease outbreaks. Specifically, the bill provides statutory authority for certain COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) reporting requirements and requires facilities to report similar information with respect to any infectious disease outbreak that results in a state or national emergency. The bill requires compliance surveys to be conducted in accordance with a specified schedule during such outbreaks and subjects facilities to civil penalties for outbreak-specific violations, as determined under criteria from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The bill also provides funds for state survey agencies to conduct related investigations.
Future Advancement of Academic Nursing Act or the FAAN Act This bill authorizes the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to award grants to nursing schools to increase capacity to respond to public health emergencies and pandemics and otherwise enhance nursing education programs. In awarding these grants, HRSA shall prioritize historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions, schools that are located in medically underserved communities, and schools in areas with shortages of health professionals.
Coverage for COVID-19 Treatment Act of 2021 This bill requires private health insurance plans to cover, without any cost-sharing requirement, medically necessary services for individuals who have been diagnosed with, or are presumed to have, COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury must, not later than one week after this bill is enacted, jointly issue guidance specifying the applicable services. Further, HHS must reimburse insurance plans for the cost-sharing amount for such services that would otherwise have been required. The bill provides funding for this reimbursement.
Barriers to Suicide Act of 20 21 This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish a program to facilitate the installation of evidence-based suicide deterrents on bridges, including suicide prevention nets and barriers. DOT may award competitive grants to states and local governments to carry out the program. The Government Accountability Office must conduct a study to identify the types of structures, other than bridges, that attract a high number of individuals attempting suicide-by-jumping and the types of nets or barriers that are effective at reducing such suicides.
Gun Violence Prevention Research Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct or support research on firearms safety or gun violence prevention.
Tracking COVID-19 Variants Act This bill expands viral genomic sequencing, disease surveillance, and other public health research activities. Specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must issue guidance on the sequencing of the virus that causes COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Additionally, the CDC must establish a program to strengthen genomic sequencing, analytics, and disease surveillance activities. As part of this program, the CDC must provide grants and technical assistance to health departments to build their capacity to carry out such activities. Furthermore, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) must carry out a demonstration program to expand an existing program that links different federal data sets for statistical public health research, including research on food insecurity, housing instability, and other social determinants of health. In particular, the program must support linkages with the National Death Index, a database of death records maintained by the NCHS.
Closing Loopholes for Orphan Drugs Act This bill revises the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which currently requires drug manufacturers to discount orphan drugs (i.e., drugs for rare conditions) for certain entities covered by the program. The bill discounts orphan drugs that are not being used to treat rare conditions for all entities covered by the program.
