A Quiet Healthcare Week on Capitol Hill. Congress was largely in recess this week, although the Senate returned briefly to complete consideration of a long-awaited foreign aid bill. Both chambers will return to session the...more
4/26/2024
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U.S. House
CONGRESS AWAY, ADMINISTRATION STILL IN PLAY -
Congress is mostly in recess this week, with the exception of the Senate returning on Tuesday, April 23, to consider the House-passed foreign aid package. Thus there are no...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
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Neil deGrasse Tyson routinely reminds us that January 1 is “a cosmically arbitrary event, carrying no Astronomical significance,” and that bodes well for Congress, whose new year is just getting started.
Sure, it’s...more
Senate HELP Committee Holds Field Hearing on Private Equity. In the hearing, held at the Massachusetts State House, members discussed the impact of private equity ownership on patients, providers, quality of care and...more
4/8/2024
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Appropriations Update. On March 20, Congress released bill text for the second (and final) tranche of fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations bills, which include: Defense, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS,...more
Appropriations Update. On March 3, Congress released bill text for the CAA, 2024, which includes funding for six of the 12 appropriations bills: Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA, Energy-Water, Transportation-HUD,...more
3/11/2024
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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
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Senate HELP Committee Releases HIPAA Modernization White Paper: Sen. Cassidy (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a white paper entitled “Strengthening Health...more
2/26/2024
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House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Holds Legislative Hearing on 19 Bills. Lawmakers discussed 19 pieces of legislation designed to support patients and caregivers in the key areas of autism, heart defects,...more
2/19/2024
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THERE’S NO GOLD RUSH, SO THE CHIEFS ARE STILL IN TOWN -
Last week, we noted that the Senate was “scheduled” to begin a two-week recess today, February 12. We used that wording intentionally because we knew things could...more
House Passes Legislation to Prohibit Use of QALYs in All Federal Health Programs. The House passed H.R. 485, the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023, a bill designed to prohibit the use of QALYs and similar...more
2/9/2024
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House Energy and Commerce Committee Holds Hearing on Healthcare Costs. The hearing included discussion on what factors are causing cost increases for individuals, for the healthcare sector, and for federal health programs...more
2/2/2024
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Senate Finance Chair Continues Inquiry into MA Marketing Techniques. Chairman Wyden (D-OR) sent letters to five third-party marketing organizations that participate in the MA enrollment period. The letters seek information on...more
1/29/2024
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CONGRESS BUYS MORE TIME -
Last Friday President Biden signed a short-term funding patch. This extends government funding through a continuing resolution (CR) into March. Specifically, this CR gives Congress until March 1...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
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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
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IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CONGRESS (BUT JUST FOR A WEEK)
Welcome to what should be the final legislative week of the calendar year.
The work that Congress does this week may provide insight into what will get...more
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
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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
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GOVERNMENT FUNDING EXPIRES SOON -
The government will run out of funding in 11 days, on November 17. The House will continue to work to advance annual appropriations bills this week. However, a continuing resolution (CR)...more
11/7/2023
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NEXT UP: SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON -
The House officially has a speaker: Mike Johnson (R-LA).
On October 25, Rep. Johnson became Speaker Johnson with a final vote on the first ballot of 220–209.
Speaker Johnson, a...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
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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