Congress is back from recess this week, and focus is on the Senate’s consideration of the House-passed reconciliation bill. Much of this work – for example, ensuring that provisions are consistent with the Byrd Rule – will be...more
Senate Prepares to Take Up Reconciliation Bill. Discussions about the bill’s real-world implications continued during this week’s recess....more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- House Passes Reconciliation Package. The package now moves to the Senate, where substantive changes, including in healthcare, will likely be made.
- HHS Secretary Kennedy, FDA Commissioner Makary...more
5/27/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Executive Orders ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare Advantage ,
New Legislation ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
MAHA and More Medicaid -
Late Sunday night, May 18, 2025, the House Budget Committee voted to advance the reconciliation package drafted by the Energy and Commerce Committee and Ways and Means Committee last week. The four...more
5/20/2025
/ Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Budget ,
Government Agencies ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- Key House Health Committees Advance Reconciliation, Bill Held Up in Budget Committee. The Energy and Commerce Committee and Ways and Means Committee passed their recommendations for reconciliation out of...more
5/19/2025
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Executive Orders ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Senate Judiciary Committee ,
Trump Administration
Below is a tracker of healthcare-related executive orders (EOs) issued by the Trump administration, including overviews of each EO and the date each EO was signed. We will regularly update this tracker as additional EOs are...more
5/12/2025
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biologics ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Educational Institutions ,
Executive Orders ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
OSTP ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration ,
World Health Organization
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- Republicans Advance Reconciliation Debate. Work continued behind the scenes among Republicans to reach consensus on Medicaid policies, with a House Energy and Commerce Committee markup announced for May...more
Reconciliation Hits a Speedbump -
As of May 6, 2025, it will not be what was anticipated on Capitol Hill. Multiple committees, including the House Energy and Commerce Committee, reportedly had planned to spend this week...more
5/7/2025
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Budget ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
Trump Administration
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- House Committees Begin Reconciliation Markups. Non-health-related committees moved forward this week, with the House Energy and Commerce Committee tentatively scheduled to mark up its legislative text in...more
After a two-week recess, lawmakers are back on Capitol Hill to begin marking up their budget reconciliation legislation. The budget resolution that passed in early April instructs committees to spend or save a certain amount....more
Below is a tracker of healthcare-related executive orders (EOs) issued by the Trump administration, including overviews of each EO and the date each EO was signed. We will regularly update this tracker as additional EOs are...more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- Reconciliation Moves Forward with Senate Introduction of Concurrent Budget Resolution. This move initiates the next stage in the reconciliation process, which requires House and Senate passage of a...more
Reconciliation Watch -
Reports indicate that the Senate will move as soon as Wednesday to begin advancing a unified budget plan. The Senate hopes to be able to advance the budget resolution by having the two chambers...more
4/1/2025
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
Trump Administration
Senate Confirms FDA, NIH Nominations, Advances CMS Nomination. On March 25, 2025, the Senate confirmed Martin Makary, MD, as the next FDA commissioner by a 56 – 44 vote. Sens. Durbin (D-IL), Hassan (D-NH), and Shaheen (D-NH)...more
3/31/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Medicare Advantage ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
New Legislation ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Trump Administration
Government Is Funded, Congress at Home for the Week. On March 15, 2025, President Trump signed a continuing resolution (CR) into law that funds the government and provides short-term extensions of certain healthcare programs...more
3/24/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Technology Sector ,
Telehealth ,
Trump Administration
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- Congress Debates Government Funding. A continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through September passed the House and may pass the Senate today.
- Senate HELP Committee Advances NIH, FDA...more
3/17/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda
This Friday is the deadline to pass a budget or enter a government shutdown. The House released a continuing resolution (CR) over the weekend and is scheduled to be in session only until Wednesday. The House Rules Committee...more
Government Funding Deadline, Healthcare Program Expirations Approach. Following recent House and Senate passage of their competing budget resolutions, Congress’ attention has now turned to the March 14, 2025, government...more
3/10/2025
/ Continuing Resolution ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EMTALA ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Senate Finance Committee ,
Trump Administration
Below is a tracker of healthcare-related executive orders (EOs) issued by the Trump administration, including overviews of each EO and the date each EO was signed. We will regularly update this tracker as additional EOs are...more
Attention Turns to Government Funding -
Last week, after some drama on the floor, the House passed its version of a budget resolution in a 217 – 215 vote, a week after the Senate passed its “skinny” resolution. For the...more
3/4/2025
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Budget ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Telehealth ,
Trump Administration
House Passes Budget Resolution. On February 25, the House voted 217 – 215 to advance its version of a budget resolution to outline the reconciliation process. In a dramatic display of how quickly things can change, the vote...more
3/3/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
The Trump administration will have its own vision on value-based care, creating specific priorities for the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), the federal government’s primary testing ground for payment and...more
2/26/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CMMI ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Trump Administration ,
Value-Based Care ,
Value-Based Payments
Can the House Pass a Budget Resolution This Week?
The House is back from recess, so both chambers of Congress are in session this week (although the House is out again on Friday).
With 18 days left to pass a budget before...more
Senate Passes Budget Resolution. Last week, the Senate and House Budget Committees each passed separate, and very different, budget resolutions as their first steps toward negotiating a unified budget resolution that must...more
After the Presidents Day long weekend, the House is out of session this week. The Senate is in session, with a continued focus on nominations and potential floor action on the budget resolution that the Senate Budget...more
2/19/2025
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Healthcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Senate Committees ,
Trump Administration