Rep. Lucy McBath

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Modernization Act This bill revises provisions related to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to establish and regularly update a comprehensive database identifying each qualified public service employer and each position offered by such employer that is a public service job. ED must also establish a process whereby an employer may submit a certification that it is a qualified public service employer. In addition, the bill prohibits ED from requiring a borrower to apply for and be denied loan cancellation pursuant to the PSLF program as a condition of eligibility for loan forgiveness under the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. ED must also develop and make publicly available an online tool for borrowers to learn more about the expanded program, determine their eligibility for forgiveness, and identify any requirements for participation.

Medicaid Saves Lives Act This bill requires and provides funds for the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a program that provides health benefits to the Medicaid expansion population in states that have not expanded Medicaid. Specifically, the program must provide coverage for individuals who are newly eligible for Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (i.e., the Medicaid expansion population) without premiums and in accordance with Medicaid cost-sharing and other requirements. The bill also extends and increases the temporarily enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for states that elect to participate in Medicaid expansion if they have not already done so.

VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 This bill adds a new source of revenue for the Crime Victims Fund and makes changes to formula grants supported by the fund. Specifically, the bill directs revenues collected from deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements to be deposited into the Crime Victims Fund. Currently, such revenues are deposited into the general fund of the Treasury. Additionally, the bill increases the percentage—from 60% to 75%—of state compensation payments to crime victims in the prior fiscal year used to calculate formula grants for state victim compensation programs. Finally, the bill directs states to waive the matching requirement for recipients of state victim assistance formula grants during and for one year after a pandemic-related national emergency. It also allows states to waive the matching requirement pursuant to a policy established by the state.

Rural Forest Markets Act of 202 1 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the Rural Forest Market Investment Program to guarantee investments to finance certain projects that will enable rural private forest landowners to participate in an innovative market for forest carbon or other products. In establishing the program, USDA must consider ways to ensure that the program minimizes disruptions to traditional forest products markets. Eligible projects are projects developed by a private entity or a publicly supported, charitable nonprofit organization engaged in the aggregation of sustainable forestry practices implemented by rural private forest landowners to facilitate the sale of credits in the voluntary carbon market or other environmental market using a methodology approved by a credible, third-party entity. USDA may guarantee up to $150 million with respect to each investment. Authority to carry out the program terminates on September 30, 2023.

Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2021 This bill establishes the Social Determinants Accelerator Interagency Council to increase coordination among health and social service programs and provide technical assistance to increase the impact of such programs. The council must also assist the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to award up to 25 grants to state, local, or tribal health or human services agencies for social determinants accelerator plans. These plans must address at least one health and one social outcome for a specified target population.

Data to Save Moms Act This bill expands data collection and research on maternal morbidity and mortality among minority populations. Specifically, the bill adds requirements to a program within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that supports maternal mortality review committees. To the extent practicable, the committees must use the most up-to-date indicators of severe maternal morbidity; review deaths caused by suicide, overdose, or other behavioral health conditions attributed to or aggravated by pregnancy or childbirth; and consult with representatives of communities about nonclinical factors that may contribute to adverse maternal outcomes. The CDC may also award grants to committees to increase their engagement with local communities, such as by bringing on community representatives as committee members. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality must consult with diverse stakeholders to review maternal health data collection processes and quality measures and make recommendations to improve them. The Indian Health Service and the Department of Health and Human Services must also arrange for studies on adverse maternal health outcomes among tribal and minority populations, respectively.

Technical Reset to Advance the Instruction of Nurses Act or the TRAIN Act This bill modifies the methodology and application of Medicare Advantage nursing and allied health education payments for hospitals. Specifically, for 2010-2019, the bill eliminates the annual cap on total payments and excludes any resulting increase from factoring into calculations for graduate medical education payments for such hospitals. (The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently issued guidance providing for the recalculation and correction of certain payments to account for the annual payment cap.)

Upskilling and Retraining Assistance Act This bill increases to $12,000 in 2021-2022, the exclusion from employee gross income, for income tax purposes, of employer-paid educational assistance programs. The bill also expands the exclusion to include amounts paid for education-related tools and technology (e.g., hand tools, computers, software, licensure fees).

Cancer Drug Parity Act of 20 21 This bill requires group health plans that cover anticancer medications administered by a health care provider to provide no less favorable cost sharing for patient-administered anticancer medications. This requirement applies to medications that are (1) approved by the Food and Drug Administration; (2) medically necessary for the cancer treatment; and (3) clinically appropriate in terms of type, frequency, extent site, and duration. To comply with this requirement, plans may not, with respect to anticancer medications (1) change or replace benefits to increase out-of-pocket costs, (2) reclassify benefits to increase costs, or (3) apply more restrictive limitations to orally administered medications than to intravenously administered or injected medications.

Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2021 This bill requires states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit bullying and harassment of elementary and secondary school students. In particular, these policies must prohibit bullying and harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or religion. Further, LEAs must provide (1) students, parents, and educational professionals with annual notice of the conduct prohibited in their disciplinary policies; (2) students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct; and (3) the public with annual data on the incidence and frequency of that conduct at the school and LEA level. The Department of Education must conduct and report on an independent biennial evaluation of programs and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools. The National Center for Education Statistics must collect state data to determine the incidence and frequency of the conduct prohibited by LEA disciplinary policies.