Healthcare (Medicare)

This bill, known as the Diabetes Foot Health Access and Modernization Act of 2026, makes two main changes to federal healthcare programs. First, it allows Medicaid to cover foot and ankle care services provided by podiatric physicians, ensuring patients have access to this specialized care. Second, it updates Medicare rules to clarify documentation requirements for diabetic shoes, specifying conditions under which patients can receive extra-depth or custom-molded footwear. The changes take effect on January 1, 2026, for Medicaid services and January 1, 2028, for Medicare shoe coverage.

This bill, known as the State Veterans Homes Inspection Simplification Act, would allow certain State Veterans Homes that are already certified by the Department of Veterans Affairs to be automatically considered compliant with Medicare and Medicaid nursing home standards. Under this proposal, facilities meeting specific VA inspection and certification requirements would not need to undergo separate reviews by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, reducing duplication of effort. The legislation maintains oversight by requiring the VA to submit its inspection standards for review every two years, allowing CMS to conduct targeted surveys or complaints investigations, and mandating public reporting of inspection data on the Nursing Home Care Compare website. A Government Accountability Office report would be required three years after enactment to evaluate the bill's impact on survey efficiency, enforcement outcomes, and resident care quality.

This bill, known as the DIABETES Act, aims to improve Medicare coverage for diabetes technology and education services. It would require Medicare to continue covering diabetes devices like continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps when beneficiaries enroll in the program, preventing loss of access during enrollment transitions. The legislation also expands coverage for diabetes self-management training services, removes deductibles for these services, and authorizes virtual training options. Additionally, it directs the government to study barriers to diabetes care access and establish new billing codes for insulin pump training services.

This bill proposes to remove the 190-day lifetime limit on inpatient psychiatric hospital services for Medicare beneficiaries. It directly affects older Americans and other eligible individuals who rely on Medicare for mental health care coverage. The key provision amends the Social Security Act to delete the specific restriction that currently caps how many days Medicare will pay for inpatient psychiatric hospital stays. Changes made by this legislation would take effect on January 1, 2027, allowing Medicare to cover these services without the previous daily limit.

Essential Caregivers Act of 2025   This bill prohibits certain health care facilities from limiting the access of essential caregivers to residents of those facilities, including during designated emergency periods.   Specifically, the bill generally prohibits Medicare skilled nursing facilities, Medicaid nursing facilities, Medicaid intermediate care facilities, and associated inpatient rehabilitation facilities from restricting the access of essential caregivers to residents of the facilities, including during emergency periods in which visitation rights are otherwise restricted. During emergency periods, facilities may restrict access for an initial period of up to seven days and for one additional maximum seven-day period (if the additional period is approved by the state health department). Facilities may restrict access for a total of 7 days (or 14 days with the approval of the state health department) during an emergency period. Essential caregivers must agree to comply with any safety protocols set by the facility, which may be no more stringent for caregivers compared to those for staff. Caregivers who fail to comply with these requirements may be denied access, subject to an appeals process.

The Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act (S. 3956) imposes a new 5% annual wealth tax on individuals and trusts whose net assets exceed $1 billion, with the threshold adjusted for inflation. The bill also expands Medicare coverage to include dental, hearing, and vision services, establishes a $60,000 minimum annual salary for public school teachers, and creates a birth-through-five child care entitlement program for families with income up to 250% of state median income. Additional provisions include permanent extensions of Medicaid protections for home and community-based services, increased funding for housing trust funds, and expanded child care and early learning support for working families.

The PATCH Act modifies how Medicare calculates payment rates for physicians providing services in Hawaii starting January 1, 2026. It requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to set the work geographic index at a minimum of 1.5 for Hawaii, even if the calculated rate would be lower. This change directly affects physicians who bill Medicare for services in Hawaii by ensuring their reimbursement rates meet a specific threshold. The bill does not apply to other payment systems or states.

The Equal Health Care for All Act requires health care providers to collect and report disaggregated health data by race, national origin, sex, disability, and age to identify health disparities. It establishes an Office for Civil Rights and Health Equity within HHS to enforce anti-discrimination measures and creates a Federal Health Equity Commission to monitor implementation. The bill prohibits health care providers from delivering inequitable care based on protected characteristics and provides grants to hospitals to improve equitable care through bias training, translation services, and workforce diversity initiatives. Hospitals would need to incorporate equitable health care measures into value-based purchasing programs starting in 2026. This legislation aims to address systemic health care inequities affecting marginalized communities through data collection, enforcement mechanisms, and targeted support for health care providers.

This bill requires Medicare to create separate payment codes for ultralightweight manual wheelchairs based on their frame material (specifically titanium or carbon fiber vs. other materials), starting in 2026. It ensures Medicare pays the standard rate for titanium/carbon fiber wheelchairs regardless of material, while allowing suppliers to charge beneficiaries the difference between Medicare's payment and their actual cost. Beneficiaries must receive a notice about potential additional costs before purchasing or renting such wheelchairs. The bill directly affects Medicare beneficiaries needing these specialized wheelchairs and the suppliers who provide them.

Further Additional Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2025 This bill provides continuing FY2025 appropriations for federal agencies through April 11, 2025. It also extends various expiring programs and authorities, including several public health programs. Specifically, the bill provides continuing FY2025 appropriations to federal agencies through the earlier of April 11, 2025, or the enactment of the applicable appropriations act. It is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and prevents a government shutdown that would otherwise occur if the FY2025 appropriations bills have not been enacted when the existing CR expires on March 14, 2025. The CR funds most programs and activities at the FY2024 levels with some exceptions that provide funding flexibility and additional appropriations for various programs. For example, the CR provides additional emergency funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund, permits the Navy to apportion funds at the rate necessary to fund the Columbia-class submarine program and cost increases for certain shipbuilding programs, and provides additional funding for the Office of Navajo and Hopi Relocation. In addition, the bill extends several expiring programs and authorities, including several public health, Medicare, and Medicaid authorities and programs; authorities related to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission whistleblower program; authorities for the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to take actions to mitigate a credible threat from an unmanned aircraft system; the special assessment on nonindigent persons or entities convicted of certain offenses involving sexual abuse or human trafficking; and the National Cybersecurity Protection System.