Health Desk
Health Bills
17 bills in the Health desk, ordered for current relevance and readability.
HealthHR-48-119Latest action: Jan 3, 20252 readersIn Committee
Ultrasound Informed Consent Act
Sponsored by Andy Biggs
Currently, federal law does not establish a uniform requirement for abortion providers to perform ultrasounds or ensure that women review ultrasound images before consenting to abortion procedures. While some states have enacted their own ultrasound disclosure laws with varying requirements, there is no federal standard governing what information abortion providers must convey or what images patients must see. This creates inconsistency across state lines and leaves decisions about ultrasound protocols largely to individual providers and state regulations. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act by adding a new Title XXXIV that requires abortion providers engaged in interstate commerce to perform an obstetric ultrasound before a woman gives informed consent to an abortion. The provider or a supervised agent must perform the ultrasound, explain what it depicts in real time, display the images so the woman can view them, and provide a complete medical description including fetal dimensions, cardiac activity if visible, and the presence of external members and internal organs. The bill specifies that women retain the right to look away from displayed images without penalty. The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies to all abortion providers in or affecting interstate commerce. The Attorney General gains authority to pursue civil penalties of up to $100,000 for a first violation and $250,000 for subsequent violations, with notification to state medical licensing boards. Additionally, women may file private lawsuits against providers for actual and punitive damages. The bill includes an exception for medical emergencies where abortion is necessary to save the mother's life, requiring providers to document the specific medical circumstances. States may maintain or enact more stringent ultrasound requirements without triggering federal preemption.
Health
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Health
HealthHR-49-119Latest action: Jan 3, 20250 readersIn Committee
No Pro-Abortion Task Force Act
Sponsored by Andy Biggs
In January 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the creation of the Reproductive Healthcare Access Task Force, an initiative designed to address barriers to reproductive healthcare services across the country. This task force operated as part of HHS's broader efforts to coordinate federal resources and policy around reproductive health access. The task force represented an ongoing federal commitment to examining and potentially expanding access to reproductive healthcare through interagency coordination and analysis. This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from using any federal funds to support the Reproductive Healthcare Access Task Force or any successor task force that serves substantially similar purposes. The prohibition applies to all federal appropriations, effectively defunding the task force and preventing HHS from establishing a replacement initiative with comparable scope or function. The bill does not specify an implementation date, meaning the prohibition would take effect upon enactment. In practice, the bill would immediately halt federal spending on the task force's operations, including staff salaries, administrative costs, and any ongoing projects or initiatives under its purview. HHS would be required to cease funding the task force and redirect any allocated resources to other departmental priorities. The bill's language prohibiting "substantially similar" successor task forces creates a broad restriction that would prevent HHS from reconstituting the initiative under a different name or structure, though the scope of what constitutes a "substantially similar" task force would likely require interpretation through agency guidance or potential litigation.
Health
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Health
HealthHR-87-119Latest action: Jan 3, 20250 readersIn Committee
Protecting Our Children from the CDC Act
Sponsored by Andy Biggs
The Public Health Service Act currently authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to add vaccines to the child and adolescent immunization schedule recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). COVID-19 vaccines were added to this schedule in recent years following clinical trials and regulatory review by the Food and Drug Administration. The bill responds to concerns about vaccine transparency by establishing a new requirement that all underlying clinical data must be publicly disclosed before any COVID-19 vaccine can be included on the recommended schedule for children and adolescents. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act by requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to post all clinical data relating to safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's public website before placing any such vaccine on the child and adolescent immunization schedule. The data must be deidentified to protect individual privacy and personnel information. Additionally, the bill immediately removes any COVID-19 vaccines currently on the schedule as of the bill's enactment date, though the Secretary retains authority to add them back if the data-posting requirement is satisfied. Implementation would occur upon enactment. The CDC would need to compile and post all relevant clinical data from the Department of Health and Human Services and ACIP in deidentified form. Any COVID-19 vaccines presently recommended for children would be removed from official guidance immediately. The Secretary could reinstate vaccines if the transparency requirement is met. This change affects how public health agencies communicate vaccine information and could alter vaccination rates for COVID-19 among children and adolescents, depending on how data disclosure influences parental and provider decisions.
Health
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Health
HealthHR-193-119Latest action: Jan 3, 20250 readersIn Committee
Maintaining Innovation and Safe Technologies Act
Sponsored by David Schweikert
Medicare Part B currently covers remote monitoring devices like continuous glucose monitors under existing payment rules, but these rules were written before artificial intelligence components became common in such devices. Policymakers and device manufacturers have raised questions about whether current payment guidance adequately addresses how to reimburse devices that use AI to continuously adjust readings or recommendations in real time. The lack of clear guidance has created uncertainty for hospitals, clinics, and device makers about which AI-enhanced monitoring tools qualify for Medicare coverage and at what payment rates. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must issue guidance by January 1, 2027, clarifying Medicare Part B payment requirements for remote monitoring devices that incorporate artificial intelligence components—such as continuous adjustment features—and transmit information to health care providers for patient management and treatment. The guidance will use existing communication channels (such as Medicare administrative contractor notices and policy updates) rather than requiring new regulatory processes. The Secretary will establish which AI-enhanced devices meet coverage criteria and how Medicare should reimburse them, bringing clarity to an area where current payment policy is ambiguous. The guidance takes effect by early 2027, giving device manufacturers and health care providers roughly two years to prepare. No new funding is required, as the Secretary will use existing Medicare administrative resources and communication infrastructure. Once issued, the guidance will likely increase Medicare coverage for qualifying AI-enhanced remote monitoring devices, potentially expanding patient access to these technologies while establishing consistent payment standards across the program. Providers will gain clarity on billing practices, and device manufacturers will have a defined pathway for bringing AI-enhanced monitoring tools to market with Medicare reimbursement certainty.
Health
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Health
HealthHR-89-119Latest action: Jan 3, 20250 readersIn Committee
Prescription Freedom Act of 2025
Sponsored by Andy Biggs
Under current federal law, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authority under Section 503(b) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to classify drugs as prescription-only, meaning they can be dispensed only with a doctor's authorization. This classification applies to thousands of medications deemed to require medical supervision due to safety concerns, potential for abuse, or the need for professional monitoring. The FDA's prescription authority has been a cornerstone of drug regulation for decades, balancing public access to medications against concerns about misuse and adverse health outcomes without professional guidance. The Prescription Freedom Act of 2025 repeals the FDA's authority to require that drugs be dispensed only upon prescription. Effective six months after enactment, Section 503(b) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act is eliminated entirely. The bill redirects all references to federal prescription requirements to state law instead, meaning individual states would determine which drugs require prescriptions within their borders. However, the Secretary of Health and Human Services retains authority to classify drugs intended to terminate pregnancies as prescription-only, creating a narrow exception to the repeal. Once the six-month transition period ends, the federal prescription classification system ceases to exist. Drugs currently classified as prescription-only would become available over-the-counter unless individual states enact their own prescription requirements. This creates a patchwork regulatory environment where a medication's availability varies by state. The bill contains no funding provisions or implementation mechanisms beyond the state-law referral. Existing federal programs that rely on prescription classifications—including Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance coverage rules—would need to adapt to state-level definitions, potentially fragmenting how medications are covered and dispensed across the country.
Health
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Health