House Education & the Workforce Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Holds Hearing on ERISA’s 50th Anniversary. Members and witnesses assessed how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)...more
9/16/2024
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Congressional Committees ,
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Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Final Rules ,
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Healthcare Reform ,
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Medicare ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
New Legislation ,
NQTLs ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
U.S. House
Congress Returns. The House and Senate will be back in session on September 9, 2024, with a joint focus on completing consideration of a continuing resolution (CR) to maintain government funding beyond the end of fiscal year...more
9/6/2024
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Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
Telehealth
CMS Finalizes New TCET Pathway. The final procedural notice, effective immediately, creates a new pathway that uses existing national coverage determination and coverage with evidence development (CED) processes to expedite...more
Senate HELP Committee Marks Up Public Health Program Reauthorizations. The bills would reauthorize several programs related to older adults, individuals with developmental disabilities and individuals with traumatic brain...more
Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Medical Debt. The hearing examined the negative impacts of medical debt and explored potential solutions to address the growing issue. Senators and witnesses highlighted the disparity...more
7/15/2024
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Data Privacy ,
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Healthcare Reform ,
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ONC ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
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Physician Fee Schedule ,
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U.S. House
House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Value-Based Care. The hearing examined the challenges and opportunities associated with delivering better health outcomes and Medicare savings through value-based care....more
7/1/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
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U.S. House
The long-awaited final reg is upon us! The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released a final regulation earlier this week...more
Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on Disability Benefits. The hearing discussed ways to improve work incentives for those on Social Security disability programs. Senators and witnesses noted that there are currently...more
School is out and it is summertime, which means only one thing in the health policy community: reg season! This is the time of the year when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) releases regulations that propose...more
6/19/2024
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Health Care Providers ,
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Healthcare Reform ,
Medicare ,
MIPS ,
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Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Telehealth
House Energy & Commerce Committee Advances 13 Health Bills. The bipartisan legislation dealt with public health, Medicaid fraud and some small telehealth bills, but not the Medicare extension legislation that the committee is...more
House Oversight Subcommittee Hearing with Fauci. The hearing aimed to gather more information on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic by Anthony Fauci, MD, former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases...more
6/7/2024
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Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Healthcare ,
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HELP ,
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Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
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Section 340B ,
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U.S. House
House Energy & Commerce Committee Hearing on FDA. The hearing examined the US Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) regulation of drugs, biologics and devices.
House Budget Committee Hearing on Healthcare Monopolies. The...more
House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Advances 21 Bills. The markup included legislation around telehealth, Medicaid, workforce and rare diseases. Of note, the subcommittee advanced a bill that included an extension of...more
5/20/2024
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Laboratory Developed Tests ,
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U.S. House
House Ways & Means Committee Marks Up Telehealth and More. The bills considered in the markup support expanding access to telehealth as well as access to healthcare in rural areas. All six bills passed out of the committee,...more
5/13/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
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U.S. House
House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Holds Legislative Hearing on Improving Medicaid Access. Daniel Tsai, deputy administrator and director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS), testified. Members...more
5/6/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
DACA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Final Rules ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
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Healthcare Reform ,
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U.S. House
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
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
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Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
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Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
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Healthcare Reform ,
HRSA ,
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Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Nursing Homes ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
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Section 340B ,
Senate Committees ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
U.S. House
During this election year, McDermottPlus is actively monitoring annual regulations that federal agencies are expected to release, as well as “ad hoc” regulations that will be released at the discretion of federal agencies. ...more
4/26/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
DEA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Employee Benefits ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Healthcare ,
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OIG ,
OSHA ,
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Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Fiscal Year 2025 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed regulation. This 1,900+ page annual reg updates Medicare payments and policies...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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Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
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U.S. House
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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U.S. House
On April 1, 2024, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Announcement of Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and Part C and D Payment Policies (Rate Announcement). CMS...more
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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Drug Pricing ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
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U.S. House
Appropriations Update. As appropriators continue to finalize the 12 funding bills for fiscal year (FY) 2024 – which began on October 1, 2023 – a series of stopgap CRs have been needed to avoid a government shutdown. This...more
3/4/2024
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SAMHSA ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Senate Committees
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
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
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Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP Act ,
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U.S. House