Sen. Margaret Wood Hassan

Maddy summaryThe RISE Act amends the Higher Education Act to improve support for college students with disabilities. It requires institutions to accept multiple forms of documentation (like high school IEPs or 504 plans) to verify disability status and mandates transparent, accessible processes for determining accommodation eligibility. Colleges must also report specific disability-related data to federal databases, including the number of students receiving accommodations and degree completions. Additionally, the bill authorizes $10 million annually (2027-2031) for a national center providing technical support to students with disabilities, without altering existing ADA definitions or rights.

Maddy summaryThe Kids Online Safety Act (S 1748) requires major social media platforms, online video games, and other "covered platforms" to implement specific safety features for minors (under 17). These features include default privacy settings that limit harmful design features like infinite scrolling and auto-play, parental controls for managing minors' accounts, and restrictions on advertising illegal products to minors. The bill also mandates annual transparency reports about how platforms are used by minors and requires platforms to provide clear notices about their content algorithms. It creates a Kids Online Safety Council to advise Congress on online safety issues for children. The law applies to platforms with more than 10 million monthly users in the U.S. and takes effect 18 months after enactment.

Maddy summaryThe Stop Superbugs Act directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to award a competitive grant for an Antibiotic Resistance Leadership Group. This group will establish a clinical research network focused on speeding up the recruitment of trial participants and conducting outreach in community settings. The bill also requires the network to integrate new diagnostic tools with pharmaceutical innovations during trials and develop patient-reported outcome measures. Funding is authorized to cover the costs associated with implementing these specific research initiatives.

Maddy summaryThe Improving CARE for Youth Act amends the Social Security Act to prevent state Medicaid plans from denying payment for mental health or primary care services provided on the same day as a qualifying service. This legislation directly affects individuals receiving Medicaid coverage, particularly those who visit outpatient facilities for both physical and mental health treatments during a single visit. By establishing that states cannot prohibit reimbursement for these concurrent services, the bill ensures that patients are not financially penalized for combining different types of care in one appointment. The measure defines "same-day qualifying services" as primary or mental health visits occurring at the same facility on the same day, regardless of whether the providers are identical.

Maddy summaryThis bill prevents the Secretary of Education from moving specific offices and their functions to other federal agencies or contracting them out. It directly affects the Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Office of Postsecondary Education, Office of Indian Education, and Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. The law blocks agreements that would allow these offices to share projects, use equipment, or transfer funds to other agencies, while also stopping internal transfers of these functions to other parts of the department before outsourcing them. The only exceptions are contracts or agreements that were already active on February 1, 2025, or renewals that keep the same terms.

Maddy summaryS 3097, the Health Information Privacy Reform Act, updates privacy rules for health data by requiring new federal regulations that harmonize with existing HIPAA and HITECH standards. It directly affects healthcare providers, insurers, and technology companies handling health information by mandating clearer privacy rules, stricter breach notifications, and new requirements for patient access to records. Key provisions include requiring written consent for selling health data, banning HIPAA protections for wellness app data (like step counts), and clarifying when health data can be shared without patient permission. The bill also establishes standardized rules for de-identifying health data and requires companies to notify patients if their health data is no longer protected under HIPAA. These changes aim to strengthen patient control over health information while aligning with modern data practices.

Maddy summaryThe College Transparency Act establishes a federal data system to collect and analyze student-level information about college enrollment, costs, completion rates, and post-graduation outcomes. The National Center for Education Statistics must develop this system within 4 years, collecting data on student demographics, program of study, financial aid, and earnings while prohibiting sensitive information like health data or citizenship status. The system will provide public, aggregated data through an online tool that allows students and families to compare institutions and make informed education decisions. The bill repeals a previous prohibition on such a data system and amends requirements for colleges to submit data, aiming to reduce reporting burdens while improving transparency. It includes privacy protections, an advisory committee with diverse representation, and prohibits using the data for federal rankings or to limit student services.

Maddy summaryS 2658, the Medication Affordability and Patent Integrity Act, requires drug manufacturers to certify that patent information submitted to the FDA for new drug approvals matches what they provided to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It mandates that sponsors submit patent-related data to the USPTO and certify its accuracy, ensuring consistency between FDA and patent filings for drugs and biologics. The bill creates a new legal defense for generic drug makers in patent lawsuits if a brand-name company failed to disclose required patent information. This applies to new drug applications filed after the law's enactment, directly affecting pharmaceutical companies seeking FDA approval for new medications.

Maddy summaryS 380, the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act, creates a federal program to improve emergency obstetric care in rural health facilities without dedicated obstetric units. It establishes evidence-based training for non-obstetric providers to handle childbirth emergencies (like hemorrhage or severe hypertension), funds equipment purchases, and launches a telehealth pilot for rapid specialist consultations. The bill authorizes $5 million for training (2026-2028), $15 million for equipment and workforce support (2026-2029), and $5 million for teleconsultation (2026-2029). It directly affects rural hospitals and clinics in maternity care shortage areas, requiring them to coordinate with maternal health programs and develop emergency protocols. A separate study will map maternity ward closures and regional care patterns, reporting to Congress within three years.

Maddy summaryThe Preventing Tax Fraud and Identity Theft Act changes the deadline for filing specific financial information returns from March 31 to January 31. This new rule applies to electronic filings related to gambling winnings, certain bank account reports, and IRA distributions, as well as other specific financial forms. The changes are designed to help the government detect tax fraud and identity theft more quickly by receiving data earlier in the year. These provisions will only take effect for tax years after December 31, 2027.