Rep. Derek Kilmer

Maddy summaryThe MAPWaters Act requires federal agencies managing public waters (like the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Forest Service) to create standardized, digital maps and databases about water access rules. It mandates publishing online details on seasonal closures, equipment restrictions (e.g., motorized boats), fishing zones, boat ramp locations, and navigation data within 4 years. This directly helps recreational users - such as boaters, anglers, and hikers - by making complex access rules easier to find and understand. The bill does not change existing fishing or waterway regulations but requires agencies to update data regularly and allow public feedback on the information.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows the Forest Service to lease its administrative sites for long-term housing development, directly affecting residents in forest-adjacent communities and Forest Service employees facing housing challenges. It amends existing law to permit leases for multiunit housing (not just single-family dwellings) and extends lease terms up to 100 years with renewal options. The policy change enables partnerships to build housing on Forest Service land that serves local residents or supports agency operations. The bill focuses on practical housing solutions without altering agency management or funding.

Maddy summaryHR 9805, the Access to Claims Data Act, allows qualified clinical data registries and clinician-led registries to access Medicare claims data (and potentially Medicaid/CHIP data if approved) for research and quality improvement. The bill requires the HHS Secretary to establish a process by January 2025 for these registries to request de-identified claims data to link with clinical outcomes, assess provider quality, and publish research findings. Access is provided at cost-recovery fees, deposited into a federal account, and the registries are exempt from needing "qualified entity" status under current law. This law directly affects healthcare data organizations aiming to improve patient care through research using existing claims information.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires Medicare Advantage plans to implement electronic prior authorization systems by 2027 and publish detailed data on their approval and denial rates for medical services by 2026. It directly affects Medicare Advantage plans (private insurers offering Medicare coverage) and their enrollees (seniors 65+), mandating transparency about prior authorization decisions, processing times, and appeal outcomes. Key provisions include requiring plans to report annual statistics on request approvals/denials, average processing times, and use of technology, with this data published publicly by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The bill also sets timelines for plan responses to prior authorization requests and mandates reports to Congress on implementation and impacts.

Maddy summaryHR 7927, the Pink Tariffs Study Act, requires the Treasury Secretary to conduct a study analyzing how U.S. import tariffs impact different consumer groups. The study must examine whether tariffs disproportionately burden basic goods (like mass-market items) versus luxury items, assess potential gender-based tariff biases (such as higher rates on women’s clothing), and break down these effects by gender, household type, and income level. It does not change current tariff rates but mandates a detailed analysis of how tariff costs fall unequally across consumers. The study must be completed within one year of the bill’s enactment and submitted to Congress.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Medicare's Shared Savings Program rules to change how Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) count primary care services toward their performance metrics. Starting in 2025, ACOs will include Medicare-covered primary care services provided by their participating doctors and providers in their quality and cost calculations. The change specifically applies to performance years beginning January 1, 2025, and affects ACOs participating in Medicare's Shared Savings Program. This adjustment modifies the technical criteria for ACOs to demonstrate value, directly impacting how they report and earn shared savings.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program to better support low-income elderly, blind, and disabled individuals. It raises key financial thresholds: the resource limit for single individuals increases from $2,250 to $20,000 (adjusted annually for inflation), and the general income exclusion rises from $240 to $1,797 per month. The bill also removes a penalty that reduced benefits for married couples, excludes retirement accounts and tribal general welfare payments from resource calculations, and eliminates outdated requirements like dedicated accounts for past-due benefits. These changes directly affect SSI recipients by making it easier to qualify and maintain benefits without losing support due to minor income or resource fluctuations.

Maddy summaryThis bill, the EMPSA Act (Eliminating the Marriage Penalty in SSI Act), changes Social Security Income (SSI) rules for married adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. It directly affects married individuals aged 18+ who have these disabilities and meet income and resource limits. The key change removes the "marriage penalty" by ensuring their spouse’s income and resources no longer count against their SSI eligibility or benefit amount, allowing them to receive the full individual benefit rate. This update modifies specific sections of the Social Security Act to eliminate the previous disadvantage faced by married couples under these disability conditions.

Maddy summaryThe Nutrition CARE Act of 2024 expands Medicare Part B coverage to include medical nutrition therapy services for beneficiaries diagnosed with eating disorders. It directly affects Medicare beneficiaries with eating disorders - particularly an estimated 420,500-560,700 Black, Indigenous, and People of Color seniors - by requiring coverage for 13 hours of initial care (including assessment) and 4 hours annually for ongoing management. The bill amends Medicare law to specify that these services must be provided by registered dietitians or nutrition professionals following referrals from physicians or psychologists. Coverage applies to all eating disorders as defined by the DSM-5, addressing a gap where Medicare previously excluded this critical treatment component. This policy change aims to improve access to evidence-based care for a condition linked to high mortality and significant healthcare costs.

Maddy summaryHR 6780 establishes a 4-year Medicare demonstration program testing whether hospitals providing medically tailored home-delivered meals to specific patients improves health outcomes and reduces hospital readmissions. The program targets Medicare beneficiaries with diet-sensitive chronic conditions (like diabetes or heart failure) who are at high risk of readmission and meet specific discharge criteria, such as limited daily living activities. Selected hospitals must screen patients, provide at least two tailored meals daily for 12 weeks, and offer medical nutrition therapy, all without patient cost-sharing. The program requires hospitals to submit data for evaluation, with the goal of assessing impacts on hospital admissions, care costs, and patient satisfaction before reporting to Congress in 2027 and 2030.