Flexibility Through Lower Expenses Health Care Act or the FLEX Act This bill provides statutory authority for certain short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans and association health plans. The bill permits short-term, limited-duration plans to provide coverage for a period of less than 12 months, not including extensions. Under current law, such plans are exempt from certain market requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, such as coverage of individuals with preexisting conditions. The bill further permits groups or associations of employers to sponsor fully insured group health plans as if they were employers. Such plans may not discriminate based on the health factors of any prospective plan participant for the purpose of granting an employer's membership in the association or determining a participant's eligibility for benefits or premium amounts.
Access to Technology and Equipment for Same-day Tests Act or the Access to TESTs Act This bill establishes grant programs to increase access to diagnostic tests. Specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must award grants to hospitals, primary care facilities, and other health care providers to buy equipment and supplies to increase access to same-day diagnostic testing in point-of-care settings. The CDC must also award grants to public health and other laboratories to buy high-throughput diagnostic equipment and supplies to increase testing capacity and expedite test results.
Rural Maternal and Obstetric Modernization of Services Act or the Rural MOMS Act This bill expands initiatives to address maternal health in rural areas. The bill provides funding through FY2026 for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to establish rural obstetric networks. These networks must foster collaboration to improve birth outcomes and reduce maternal morbidity in rural areas. HRSA also must award demonstration grants to medical schools and other health professional training programs to support education and training on maternal health in rural areas. In addition, the bill incorporates maternal health services in certain telehealth grant programs. It also revises various research and other activities of the Department of Health and Human Services that pertain to maternal health. Furthermore, the Government Accountability Office must report on maternal health topics, including health inequities and data issues.
Sending Outside Support Act of 2021 or the SOS Act of 2021 This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to distribute funds to allow states to establish strike teams that may be deployed to skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities with cases of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) to help with clinical care, infection control, or staffing.
FEMA Climate Change Preparedness Act This bill requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to (1) revise its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan to ensure that the plan explicitly mentions climate change and addresses the implications of climate change on homeland security and near- and long-term national disaster risk, and (2) ensure that future strategic plans do likewise. The Department of Homeland Security must establish, as a subcommittee of the National Advisory Council, the Climate Change Subcommittee, which shall advise FEMA on how to best incorporate climate change, including risk assessments and strategies for adaptation and mitigation, into and throughout FEMA's policies, plans, programs, and operations. FEMA must publish as a report, submit to specified congressional committees, and make available to Congress and the public, a comprehensive assessment of climate change risks and preparedness.
This bill requires the President to notify Congress and the public of executive orders relating to the natural resources of the United States before issuing such orders.
Air Traffic Noise and Pollution Expert Consensus Act of 20 21 This bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration to enter into an arrangement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to examine and report on the various health impacts of air traffic noise and pollution.
Community Immunity During COVID-19 Act of 2021 This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to award grants to health departments to increase rates of recommended immunizations during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency. The CDC must also develop, in consultation with specified entities, guidance for health care providers on counseling patients about COVID-19 vaccines.
Metro Accountability and Investment Act This bill reauthorizes for FY2022-FY2031 authority for the Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide grants to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to finance in part the capital and preventive maintenance projects included in its Capital Improvement Program. It conditions the availability of funds, in part, on the WMATA Board of Directors certifying to DOT that it has adopted and will keep certain resolutions in effect for the entire funding period, including (1) establishing an independent budget authority, procurement authority, and hiring authority for its Office of the General Inspector; (2) ensuring its Inspector General (IG) can obtain legal advice from a counsel reporting directly to the IG; (3) requiring the IG to submit recommendations for corrective action to the General Manager and the Board of Directors of WMATA; (4) requiring the IG to publish such recommendations on its website; (5) requiring the WMATA Board of Directors to provide written notification to Congress at least 30 days in advance of the removal of an IG; and (6) prohibiting the WMATA Board of Directors from removing its Inspector General without a 30-day written notification that documents specific reasons for removal, including an abuse of authority.
Support Local Transportation Act This bill revises requirements for the surface transportation block grant program to increase the percentages of program funds required to be allocated to states for each of FY2022-FY2026 for surface transportation projects in urbanized areas with a population of over 200,000, non-urban areas with a population greater than 5,000, and other areas of the state.
Coast Guard Safety and Accountability Act This bill requires the U.S. Coast Guard to formally respond in writing to each recommendation about transportation safety from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The response must indicate whether the Coast Guard intends to (1) adopt the complete recommendation, (2) adopt a part of the recommendation, or (3) refuse to adopt the recommendation. The NTSB must make a copy of each recommendation and response available to the public at a reasonable cost.
This bill requires the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), on or before June 30, 2021, to convey specific properties to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including the Keystone Line and stations between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. Amtrak shall be entitled to use the properties conveyed on the same terms and conditions and right to determination by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board as afforded commuter authorities operating over Amtrak's lines, but shall not be entitled to compensation for the conveyances.
