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
House Passes Healthcare Legislation. The House brought two key bipartisan healthcare bills to the floor this week. The Lower Costs, More Transparency Act (H.R. 5378) was approved by a vote of 320–71, and the Support for...more
12/18/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
GAO ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Privacy Laws ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. House
Two-Week Stretch Before Holiday Recess - Congress only has two weeks left in session for the rest of year. There is a lot to accomplish in those two weeks. While government funding has been punted into early 2024, Congress is...more
CONGRESS -
House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Examines AI. The hearing explored the transformative potential of AI in healthcare, acknowledging its promise in enhancing efficiency, improving patient care and...more
12/4/2023
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
Will the Government Shut Down at the End of This Week?
We have reached the final work week during which Congress will need to come to an agreement on funding the government or enter a shutdown...more
CONGRESS -
House Republicans Elect New Speaker. After weeks of turmoil, the House elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the new Speaker of the House on Wednesday with 220 votes secured on the floor. The House is now able to...more
10/30/2023
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP Act ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
The House of Representatives has now been without a speaker for 20 days. Last week, Rep. Jordan (R-OH) dropped out of the speaker race after an internal Republican Conference vote showed he had no path to victory. This week,...more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
Uncharted Territory in the House: The House voted to remove Rep. McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker of the House, then recessed until at least October 11, when the House is slated to reconvene to elect a new...more
10/9/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Extensions ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Laboratory Developed Tests ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Over The Counter Drugs (OTC) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Request For Information ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Temporary Regulations ,
U.S. Treasury
Do We End the Week with a Shutdown?
That is the question of the week. We’ll know the answer in five days, but right now, “yes” is a far more plausible answer than “no.”
On the House side, Speaker McCarthy will first...more
9/26/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Government Shutdown ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
CONGRESS -
Senators Sanders and Marshall Release Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Act. Released on September 14, the legislation would reauthorize funding for a number of healthcare workforce programs that are...more
9/20/2023
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DEA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GAO ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proposed Legislation ,
U.S. House
This week the House returns from August recess, so both bodies of Congress will be here and working. There is a lot to accomplish prior to the September 30, 2023, deadline for Congress to act to fund the federal government....more
CONGRESS -
House Republicans Release Healthcare Package. On September 6, House Republicans unveiled the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, a draft package of healthcare transparency provisions, pharmacy benefit manager...more
9/11/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CMMI ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Pricing ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Long-Term Care ,
New Legislation ,
Over-Time ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Request For Information ,
Rural Health Care Program ,
Transparency
Today the Senate returns from August recess, while the House remains on recess until next week. We are prepared for a very busy final quarter of 2023.
The first order of business for Congress is to fund the federal...more
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 House and Senate were both in session this week, with healthcare activity at the committee level. The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on innovation and a markup of 15 healthcare bills. The Senate...more
7/24/2023
/ Billing ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP Act ,
Legislative Agendas ,
MCOs ,
Medicare ,
Proposed Legislation ,
SAMHSA ,
Senate Committees ,
Technology ,
Telehealth ,
U.S. House ,
Vaccinations
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
Two Weeks Before August Recess
We are rapidly approaching the August recess, when both the House and Senate will be back home for an entire month. As a result, there is a mad dash to move legislation through the...more
The House and Senate returned from recess, beginning a three-week sprint toward the August break. The House Education and the Workforce Committee held a markup of a bipartisan healthcare package of four bills. The House...more
7/14/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
The House and Senate are in recess and will return next week to resume healthcare activity. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is seeking feedback on a staff-level bipartisan discussion draft to...more
7/10/2023
/ Amended Rules ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Health Insurance ,
HELP ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Senate Committees
Calendar Crunch -
The House and the Senate just began a two-week recess for the July 4 holiday. Looking into the future, there are very few working days left on the calendar leading up to the end of the fiscal year. The...more
Congress was in session for a final week of legislative business before the two-week Independence Day recess. The House brought a small-business-focused healthcare bill to the floor, approving it along party lines....more
6/23/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Comment Period ,
Congressional Committees ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Healthcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Legislative Committees ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation
Work Before July 4 Recess -
This is the last week before Congress heads out for a two-week July 4 recess, and appropriations work in Congress is ramping up.
The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold its first full...more
The House and Senate were both in session this week, with healthcare activity continuing at the committee level. The House Energy and Commerce Committee held hearings on the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA)...more
6/16/2023
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Debt ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Healthcare ,
HELP ,
Hospitals ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Telehealth ,
Transgender
On April 26, 2023, the House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee held a legislative hearing on 17 healthcare bills, including one that would direct the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement...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