The short version
- A bipartisan bill extending federal research programs for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and other neurodegenerative diseases became law on November 3.
- A House committee formally sent the full House a bill that would label temporary “locum tenens” doctors and nurse practitioners as independent contractors rather than employees, a change supporters say helps rural hospitals and critics say weakens worker protections.
- Congress just returned after the midterm elections, and government funding runs out December 11, so the weeks ahead will be dominated by deadlines rather than new health policy.
Featured Bills
H.R. 8205 — Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Reauthorization Act of 2026 (now Public Law 119-138)
Who proposed it: Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL). Congress.gov lists 100 cosponsors: 61 Democrats and 39 Republicans. A Senate companion, S. 4472, was led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
What it does: According to the Congressional Research Service summary, the law extends through fiscal year 2031 three programs: National Institutes of Health grants for research on investigational (not yet approved) drugs for people with ALS who can’t join clinical trials; Food and Drug Administration grants for developing ALS and other neurodegenerative disease therapies; and a public-private partnership between the FDA and NIH. It also requires NIH to weigh safety and effectiveness data when renewing grants and to require prompt reporting of serious, unexpected side effects. The FDA must publish a five-year plan to speed development of, and access to, drugs for ALS and other rare neurodegenerative diseases, and later report on what it did.
Who it affects: People living with ALS and their families, researchers, and companies developing treatments for rare neurodegenerative diseases.
What changes: Programs that were set to run out keep their funding authority for several more years. Note that “authorizing” a program allows spending; the money itself still has to be approved in separate funding bills.
Supporters say / Critics say: The vote record points to broad support: a House committee approved it 46–0, and both the House (July 22) and Senate (September 28) passed it by voice vote, meaning there was no individual vote tally. I found no public opposition.
Where it stands: Introduced → Committee → House vote → Senate vote → Signed by the President on November 3, per the White House. This is the final stage.
Chances of becoming law: It already has.
H.R. 8347 — RURAL Healthcare Act
Who proposed it: Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT). Congress.gov shows one cosponsor, a Republican (Rep. Glenn Grothman, per the bill text); no Democrats.
What it would do: Under the committee-amended bill text, a “qualified locum tenens professional or advanced care practitioner” would not be treated as an employee under two federal labor laws: the Fair Labor Standards Act (minimum wage and overtime) and the National Labor Relations Act (the right to organize). To qualify, a clinician must be a physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or nurse anesthetist, work temporarily at one site for no more than a continuous year, and have a written contract saying they won’t be treated as an employee. (Locum tenens means a clinician who temporarily fills in for or adds to a facility’s staff.)
Who it affects: Temporary clinicians, the staffing firms and hospitals that use them, and patients in areas that rely on temporary coverage.
What would change: Those clinicians would lose coverage under the two laws above whenever their contract says so; facilities would no longer have to treat them as employees under those laws.
Supporters say: Sponsor Owens says the bill prevents staffing gaps in rural and underserved communities (sponsor press release; this is advocacy). At a June hearing, as SHRM reported, witnesses and Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) argued temporary clinicians are skilled professionals who value flexibility and that rural areas depend on them.
Critics say: In the same SHRM report, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) argued the bill is a special carve-out that could cost clinicians overtime, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and bargaining rights, and urged investment in training and loan repayment instead.
Where it stands: Introduced (April 16) → Committee: approved 18–15 on July 21; formally reported to the House November 2 and placed on the Union Calendar (the House’s list of bills awaiting a floor vote) → House vote → Senate vote → President. Next step: a House floor vote, not yet scheduled as far as I could find.
Chances of becoming law: Low to moderate in this Congress. The committee vote was close, Democratic opposition appears strong, and the Senate generally needs 60 votes to move legislation. I found no Senate companion, and this Congress ends January 3, 2027, when unpassed bills expire. The House could still pass it.
H.R. 3100 — CHILD Act of 2026
Who proposed it: Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC). Cosponsors: three Republicans and one Democrat. A Senate bill, S. 1528, is listed as related.
What it would do: Per the CRS summary, it restores the ability of organizations that care for children, older adults or people with disabilities to request national criminal background checks on contractors and on people they license or certify. A 2018 law had narrowed checks to employees, volunteers and owners or operators.
Who it affects: Care providers and placement organizations, and the children, seniors and people with disabilities they serve.
What would change: Organizations could run national checks on a wider set of people who have access to those they serve.
Supporters say / Critics say: The committee approved it 23–0. I did not find public opposition.
Where it stands: Introduced (April 2025) → Committee: reported November 5, placed on the Union Calendar → House vote → Senate vote → President. Next step: a House floor vote.
Chances of becoming law: Better than most bills given the unanimous committee vote and a Senate counterpart, but it still needs floor time and Senate action before January 3.
Other bills that moved
- H.R. 5723, FRAUD in VA Disability Exams Act (Rep. Mark Takano, D-CA): reported November 5; would have the VA look for fraud in disability benefit questionnaires.
- H.R. 9605, Less Bureaucracy, Better Foreign Medical Accreditation Act (Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-WI): reported November 5; would move oversight of foreign medical school accreditation from the Education Department to HHS.
Also introduced recently
- H.R. 10954, Don’t Flush Babies Act — Energy and Commerce
- H.R. 10959, Right to Re-Enroll Act of 2026 — Energy and Commerce
- H.R. 10956, IHS Workforce Parity Act of 2026 — Natural Resources and Energy and Commerce
- H.R. 10955, EITC Age Parity Act of 2026 — Ways and Means
Coming up
- Monday, November 9: The House takes up seven bills under suspension of the rules (a fast-track process needing a two-thirds vote), mostly nuclear energy plus a veterans’ cost-of-living adjustment, per the Majority Leader’s schedule. The Rules Committee meets at 4 p.m.
- November 11–13: House Education and Workforce meetings, per docs.house.gov.
- December 11: Current government funding expires, per Holland & Knight.
- December 31: Several Medicare and community health center funding provisions expire, per the same source.