Bill Cassidy

Employee Ownership Representation Act of 2025

This bill expands the membership of the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans to include two representatives of employee ownership organizations.

The advisory council generally advises and makes recommendations to the Department of Labor about the department's functions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

Due Process Continuity of Care Act

This bill allows an otherwise eligible individual who is in custody pending disposition of charges (i.e., pretrial detainees) to receive Medicaid benefits at the option of the state. The bill also provides for state planning grants to support the provision of such benefits.

Claiming Age Clarity Act

This bill changes certain terms that are used by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to describe the ages at which a worker may claim Social Security retirement benefits.

First, the SSA must use minimum monthly benefit age instead of early eligibility age. This refers to the earliest age (62 under current law) at which a worker may claim benefits. (Currently, the benefit amount of a worker who claims benefits early is reduced to account for the longer period during which the worker is expected to receive benefits.)

Second, the SSA must use standard monthly benefit age instead of full retirement age and normal retirement age. These terms refer to the age at which a worker may claim benefits without a reduction in the benefit amount. (Currently, this age ranges from 65 to 67, depending on the worker's year of birth.)

Finally, the SSA must use the term maximum monthly benefit age for any reference to age 70 as the maximum age at which a worker may receive delayed retirement credits. The SSA may not use the term delayed retirement credit. These terms refer to the mechanism that increases the benefit amount of a worker who delays claiming benefits after reaching the full retirement age. (Currently, a worker receives a credit for each month between the full retirement age and age 70 that the worker delays claiming benefits. Each credit increases the benefit amount that the worker will receive after claiming benefits by a specified percentage.)

Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform Act of 2025 or the SOAR Act of 2025

This bill establishes certain requirements with respect to the payment and provision of supplemental oxygen and related services under Medicare.

For example, the bill provides for separate payments, indexed to inflation, of oxygen and related equipment, supplies, and services under Medicare (rather than under the competitive acquisition program). It also specifically covers services that are provided by respiratory therapists under Medicare and provides for an additional payment adjustment for these services.

Additionally, the bill (1) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to develop an electronic template for providers to use when prescribing oxygen and related equipment, supplies, and services; and (2) establishes certain rights for beneficiaries receiving these items and services, such as the right to choose their suppliers and to receive clear communications and be informed about the services provided.

Containing and Limiting the Extensive Abuses Noticed in Free Trade Zones Act of 2025 or the CLEAN FTZ Act of 2025

This bill creates a system to classify countries based on compliance with international standards within their free trade zones and establishes related penalties. (Free trade zones are designated areas, typically located at or near ports, that contain production facilities and related infrastructure. Generally, these zones are treated as being outside the customs territory despite being physically located inside the geographic boundaries of countries.)

Specifically, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) must identify, publish, and update a list of non-U.S. free trade zones that includes the identity, location, and administrators of each zone.

Upon publication of the list of zones, CBP must then publish a classification of the countries in which those zones are located into four tiers based on specified standards (e.g., complying with international standards and countering illicit international trade). CBP must notify the government of each country of the tier to which the country was classified and periodically review the tier classification.

The bill directs CBP to take additional actions with respect to countries classified as tier II, III, or IV, such as creating a hotline for reporting instances of illicit international trade.

The bill also establishes related penalties, such as authorizing the President to impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions on any foreign person that has facilitated or supported illicit international trade within a zone located in a country classified as tier II, III, or IV.

Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act

This bill specifies certain requirements for private health insurers regarding coverage of individuals with end stage renal disease (ESRD) who are also covered under Medicare.

In particular, the bill specifies that insurers may not limit benefits, including limiting network composition, in a manner that will affect ESRD Medicare beneficiaries differently compared to others without ESRD. The bill additionally specifies that insurers are not required to include a particular renal dialysis provider or a particular number of such providers as part of their networks.

Stop Supreme Court Leakers Act of 2025

This bill establishes new federal crimes for the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information by officers or employees of the Supreme Court.

Specifically, the bill prohibits an officer or employee of the Supreme Court from knowingly publishing, divulging, disclosing, or making known in any manner or to any extent not authorized by law any confidential information coming to that officer or employee in the course of the employment or official duties of that officer or employee.

A violation is subject to criminal penalties. Additionally, any property constituting or derived from proceeds obtained as the result of the violation is subject to criminal forfeiture.

No Unreasonable Payments, Coding, Or Diagnoses for the Elderly Act or the No UPCODE Act

This bill modifies certain factors that are used to determine Medicare Advantage (MA) payments, particularly relating to health status and related data.

Specifically, the bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to use two years of diagnostic data in its risk adjustment methodology for MA payments. It also prohibits the CMS from using diagnoses that are collected from chart reviews or health risk assessments when adjusting payments based on health status. The CMS must also take into account any differences in coding patterns between MA and traditional Medicare when determining MA payment adjustments.