Congress is back from a long August recess. However, it is only back for a few weeks. During this window, there is only one major thing Congress must do: extend government funding past the September 30 deadline through a...more
9/10/2024
/ Congressional Committees ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Regulatory Agenda
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Holds Hearing on PBMs. Republicans and Democrats shared concerns about the role and practices of PBMs. While generally supportive of free market principles, Republicans criticized...more
House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Cybersecurity. During the hearing, there was bipartisan concern about UnitedHealth Group’s response to the Change Healthcare cyberattack and consensus around the...more
4/18/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
GAO ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Payment Systems ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
IT’S SHUTDOWN WEEK . . . AGAIN -
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Congress returns to session this week, with precious little time to avert a looming partial government shutdown at midnight on Friday. After...more
2/27/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
Although about a month is left before the March 1 and March 8 government funding deadlines, time is of the essence in coming to agreement on several contentious issues. The Senate is scheduled to begin a two-week recess on...more
PARTIAL SNOW DAY, PARTIAL SHUT DOWN?
Much of the federal government is closed today because of yesterday’s significant (for DC) and unexpected snowfall. However, part of the federal government is set to shut down this...more
The Senate is back in session today, and the House comes back tomorrow. The beginning of 2024 is looking a lot like the end of 2023, with the big factor being the need to address government funding for fiscal year (FY) 2024....more
1/9/2024
/ Billing ,
Congressional Committees ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Price Transparency ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
Senate Finance Committee Examines Drug Shortages. The hearing addressed concerns and explored potential solutions related to drug shortages in the United States, particularly focusing on essential medications. The hearing...more
12/11/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP ,
March-in-Rights ,
NIST ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Price Transparency ,
Request For Information ,
Telehealth ,
U.S. Commerce Department
Limited Time Before the End of the Year and January 19 First, welcome back from what was hopefully a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving break. Although this year will not entail a year-end government funding package, we are...more
11/28/2023
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Congressional Committees ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
NDAA ,
New Legislation ,
Payment Systems ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements
Congress Passes Two-Tiered CR to Fund Government into Early 2024. In the absence of final passage of any of the 12 annual appropriations bills for FY 2024, Speaker Johnson (R-LA) unveiled a short-term CR, H.R. 6363, the...more
CONGRESS -
Senate Finance Committee Holds Markup on Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs, and Extenders Act. The bipartisan package includes Medicare and Medicaid extenders, provisions to expand the mental health...more
11/10/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
Mental Health ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Senate Committees ,
Telehealth ,
U.S. House
The House and Senate were both in session this week, with healthcare activity at the committee level. The House Ways and Means Committee held a markup focused on healthcare transparency and consolidation legislation. The...more
7/28/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Inpatient Rehab Facilities ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Bills ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Senate Committees ,
Senate Finance Committee ,
Transparency ,
U.S. House
Heading into the August Recess -
This is the last week in session before Congress goes out for a six-week August recess. Before that, Congress is typically in a mad dash to advance bills. However, this year we are in a...more
The US House and Senate returned from recess, beginning a three-week sprint toward the August break. The bipartisan healthcare legislation on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and healthcare transparency is moving through both...more
Debt Limit Extended . . . Now What?
Late last week, Congress reached a bipartisan, bicameral deal to suspend the debt ceiling into 2025. Over the weekend, President Biden signed the bill into law, preventing the United...more
6/6/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Debt ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare ,
HELP ,
Medicaid ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Telehealth
The House was in session this week, while the Senate was in recess. The House Energy & Commerce Committee continued its work on healthcare by advancing six bills that address competition, transparency and access to care. The...more
5/30/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Medicaid ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Transparency
The House and Senate were both in session this week, with significant healthcare activity at the committee level. The House Ways & Means Committee met to discuss healthcare price transparency, and the Ways & Means Health...more
5/19/2023
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GAO ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare Advantage ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Price Transparency ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Ways and Means Committee
Lots of Healthcare Activity in Congress -
Activity in Congress focusing on healthcare issues has increased over the last few weeks and is not slowing down anytime soon. This week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and...more
5/1/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
HELP ,
Medicaid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
State Medicaid Programs ,
Transparency
Congress Is Back for an Important Work Period -
Congress is back from its two-week spring recess. This work period in Congress will go through the Memorial Day recess. This is a very important work period stretch for...more