Rep. Mike Quigley

Maddy summaryThis bill imposes U.S. sanctions on foreign individuals and entities that facilitate North Korea's transfer of arms or material support to Russia for use in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It targets those responsible for such transfers, including foreign financial institutions enabling significant transactions related to these activities, requiring property blocks and visa restrictions. The bill also amends existing North Korea sanctions to explicitly require halting such material support and mandates the President to submit regular reports to Congress on North Korea's involvement and U.S. strategies to counter it.

Maddy summaryHR 5008, the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act of 2023, would remove immigration status as a barrier to health insurance coverage for immigrants in the United States. The bill would make all lawfully present immigrants, including those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, eligible for Medicaid, CHIP, and Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies. It would eliminate state-level restrictions on Medicaid eligibility for immigrants and allow individuals with federally authorized presence to access premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions. This legislation aims to address health coverage disparities that disproportionately affect immigrant communities, particularly Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other communities of color.

Maddy summaryThis bill prevents Medicare from imposing stricter supervision requirements for outpatient physical therapy and occupational therapy than those established by state law, requiring Medicare to follow existing state regulations instead. It takes effect January 1, 2024, directly affecting Medicare-covered therapy services in all states. Additionally, it mandates a Government Accountability Office study by December 2024 to analyze how Medicare’s 15% payment differential for therapy assistants impacts access to care in rural and underserved areas. The study will examine this payment policy across all Medicare Part B settings.

Maddy summaryThe Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act of 2023 expands the National Health Service Corps to include physical therapists in its loan repayment program and creates designated "physical therapy health professional target areas" for their assignment in underserved communities. It also amends Medicare to cover physical therapy services provided by physical therapists at Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers, effective January 1, 2025. This directly affects physical therapists by offering new career pathways in underserved areas and patients in those communities by increasing access to physical therapy services for conditions like pain management and rehabilitation. The bill does not alter existing eligibility requirements for physical therapists but formally integrates their services into key federal healthcare programs.

Maddy summaryThe Social Security 2100 Act would significantly enhance Social Security benefits for millions of Americans by increasing monthly payments for retirees, disabled workers, widows/widowers, and children. Key provisions include raising the minimum benefit for long-term low earners, improving cost-of-living adjustments using a more accurate index, eliminating the 5-month waiting period for disability benefits, and extending child benefits to age 26. The bill also changes how Social Security taxes are calculated by applying them to income above $400,000 and establishes a unified Social Security Trust Fund to manage program finances. Most provisions would apply to benefits payable from 2025 through 2034, affecting all current and future Social Security beneficiaries.

Maddy summaryThe PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2023 requires private health insurance plans, Medicare, Medicaid, and other public health programs to cover pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention without cost-sharing, including the medication, related lab tests, and follow-up care. The bill also prohibits life, disability, and long-term care insurance companies from denying coverage or charging higher premiums to people taking PrEP. It establishes public education campaigns to increase awareness of PrEP and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) and creates funding for state and community programs to expand access to HIV prevention services, particularly for populations disproportionately affected by HIV including Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and transgender individuals. The legislation specifically addresses current disparities in PrEP access, as data shows only 11% of Black/African American and 21% of Hispanic/Latinx individuals eligible for PrEP received prescriptions in 2022 compared to 82% of White individuals. Coverage requirements for most plans will take effect on January 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryThe CONNECT for Health Act of 2023 aims to expand access to telehealth services under Medicare by removing barriers that previously limited who could provide these services and where they could be delivered. The bill eliminates geographic restrictions on telehealth coverage, allows telehealth services to be provided from the patient's home and other clinically appropriate locations, and expands the types of healthcare providers who can offer telehealth services. It also improves the process for adding new telehealth services to Medicare coverage and includes provisions to ensure quality measurement includes telehealth services. This legislation directly affects Medicare beneficiaries seeking remote care and healthcare providers delivering telehealth services, with key provisions taking effect between 2024 and 2025.

Maddy summaryThe LIFT the BAR Act removes barriers preventing lawfully present noncitizens from accessing federal benefits like food assistance, Medicaid, and school meals. It repeals specific 1996 welfare law provisions that excluded noncitizens and updates terminology to replace "alien" with "noncitizen" throughout federal law. The bill expands eligibility to include noncitizens in categories such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, individuals with special immigrant juvenile status, and those with pending U-visa applications. This change ensures more noncitizens lawfully present in the U.S. can access essential services without being denied based on immigration status.

Maddy summaryHR 4034 would add cranial prostheses (such as medical wigs) to Medicare's list of covered durable medical equipment. It requires a dermatologist, oncologist, or attending physician to certify in writing that the prosthesis is medically necessary as part of rehabilitative treatment. This change directly affects Medicare beneficiaries experiencing hair loss due to medical conditions like cancer treatment who need these prostheses for health reasons. The bill does not cover cosmetic wigs but specifically targets medically necessary cranial prostheses under existing Medicare coverage rules.

Maddy summaryHR 3875, the Expanded Telehealth Access Act, expands Medicare coverage for telehealth services by adding new healthcare professionals to the list of providers eligible for payment. It specifically includes licensed audiologists, occupational therapists (and their assistants under supervision), physical therapists (and their assistants under supervision), and speech-language pathologists. The bill ensures these providers are paid the same rate for telehealth services as they would be for in-person care under Medicare. This change directly affects Medicare beneficiaries seeking remote therapy services and the new provider types who can now offer these services via telehealth.