Long-Term Care Pharmacy Definition Act of 2021 This bill establishes a statutory definition for long-term care pharmacy under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Currently, there is no statutory definition. Regulations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) define a long-term care pharmacy as a pharmacy that is owned by or under contract with a long-term care facility to provide prescription drugs to the facility's residents. Additional requirements are set out in CMS guidance relating to the Medicare prescription drug benefit; pharmacies are also subject to regulations and guidance from other agencies (e.g., packaging requirements from the Food and Drug Administration). The bill defines a long-term care pharmacy as a state-licensed pharmacy that is able to provide enhanced pharmacy and clinical services to individuals who have certain comorbid and medically complex chronic conditions and who reside in skilled nursing facilities, nursing facilities, or any other applicable setting (as determined by the CMS). The term enhanced pharmacy and clinical services includes medication dispensed in special packaging, drug utilization review, and 24-7 availability of medication delivery and on-call pharmacists.
Sponsored bills
Carried Interest Fairness Act of 2021 This bill modifies the tax treatment of carried interest, which is compensation that is typically received by a partner of a private equity or hedge fund and is based on a share of the fund's profits. (Under current law, carried interest is taxed as investment income rather than at ordinary income tax rates.) This bill includes provisions that set forth a special rule for the inclusion in gross income of partnership interests transferred in connection with the performance of services, treat as ordinary income the net capital gain with respect to an investment services partnership interest except to the extent such gain is attributable to a partner's qualified capital interest, exempt income from investment services partnership interests from treatment as qualifying income of a publicly traded partnership, exempt certain family partnerships from the application of this bill, increase the penalty for underpayments of tax resulting from failure to treat income from an investment services partnership interest as ordinary income, and include income and loss from an investment services partnership interest for purposes of determining net earnings from self-employment and applicable self-employment taxes. The bill defines investment services partnership interest as any interest in a partnership held by a person who provides services to a partnership by (1) advising the partnership about investing in, purchasing, or selling specified assets; (2) managing, acquiring, or disposing of specified assets; or (3) arranging financing with respect to acquiring specified assets.
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.)
Jobs and Childcare for Military Families Act of 2021 This bill allows an employer a work opportunity tax credit for hiring an individual who is certified by a designated local agency as being, as of the hiring date, the spouse or domestic partner of a member of the Armed Forces, and requires the creation of programs for uniformed services families to pay for childcare on a pretax basis. Specifically, an employer may receive a tax credit equal to 40% of a new employee's first-year wages if the employer hires a service member's spouse or domestic partner (as recognized under state law or by the Armed Forces). Currently, a similar tax credit exists for employers who hire certain disadvantaged individuals, including disadvantaged veterans. The bill requires the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security (with respect to the Coast Guard), the Department of Commerce (with respect to officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and the Department of Health and Human Services (with respect to the Public Health Service) to implement flexible spending arrangements that permit members of the uniformed services to use basic pay and compensation to pay for childcare services for their dependent children on a pretax basis.
Strategic Competition Act of 2021 This bill addresses various foreign relations issues, with a focus on China. Among other things, the bill requires the U.S. Agency for Global Media to take certain actions to support independent journalism and combat censorship in countries where the Chinese Communist Party or other entities are promoting disinformation; requires the Department of State to establish programs to engage partner countries on issues such as regulatory harmonization and technology partnerships; prohibits any individual who has served as Secretary of State or Deputy Secretary of State from representing a foreign government entity before the executive branch; requires the State Department to develop and implement a plan for increasing the U.S. presence in the Indo-Pacific region; authorizes various foreign military financing and diplomatic activities in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region; prioritizes the transfer of excess defense articles to Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia; prohibits a country from receiving certain U.S. assistance if that country hosts a Chinese military installation within its territory, with some exceptions; authorizes the U.S. representative to the Inter-American Development Bank to vote for an increase in the bank's capital stock; requires strategies to engage with other countries on issues such as managing relations with China; authorizes military training assistance activities in Latin America and the Caribbean; establishes an interagency working group to counter Chinese cyber aggression in Africa; authorizes activities to promote democracy in Hong Kong; and imposes sanctions on foreign individuals and entities responsible for certain abuses (e.g., forced labor and coercive abortions) in China's Xinjiang region.
This resolution thanks the teachers of the United States and promotes the teaching profession by encouraging students, parents, school administrators, and public officials to recognize National Teacher Appreciation Week.
This resolution condemns the acts of gun violence that led to the tragic loss of eight lives in Georgia on March 16, 2021.
Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act of 2021 This bill modifies the process and policy related to the disposition of charges and convening of courts-martial for certain sexual assault cases and other specified offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Among other elements, the bill provides that the determinations on the preferral, disposition, and referral of charges for specified offenses under the UCMJ must be made by a commissioned officer of the Armed Forces who is designated as a court-martial convening authority (in grade O-6 or higher) and who is available for detail as trial counsel, has significant trial experience, and is outside the chain of command of the member subject to the charges.
Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2021 or the CONNECT for Health Act of 2021 This bill expands coverage of telehealth services under Medicare. Among other provisions, the bill allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to waive certain restrictions, such as restrictions on the types of technology that may be used; permanently removes geographic restrictions on originating sites (i.e., the location of the beneficiary) and allows the home of the beneficiary to serve as the originating site for all services; permanently allows federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to serve as the distant site (i.e., the location of the health care practitioner); and allows the CMS to generally waive coverage restrictions during any public health emergency. Additionally, the CMS must report on the effects of expanded telehealth services during the COVID-19 public health emergency, including with respect to the utilization, quality, and outcomes of services. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation may also test alternative payment models relating to expanded telehealth services.
Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the President to provide assistance to implement a comprehensive five-year strategy to contribute toward the global goal of ending preventable child and maternal deaths by 2030.