On May 22, by a vote of 258-159, the House approved a Senate-passed bill to free thousands of small and medium-sized banks from strict rules that had been enacted in 2010 as part of the Dodd-Frank law intended to prevent...more
On June 19, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a final rule to expand access to association health plans (AHPs), which allow employers to form groups to collectively purchase health coverage for their employees. ...more
On Friday, May 11, President Donald Trump and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar presented the Administration's long-awaited plan to address drug pricing. The proposed framework, entitled,...more
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is soliciting comments from the public on the Administration's proposals to reduce drug prices and is targeting the 340B drug pricing program as an area of focus. ...more
Having approved a two-year budget agreement in February and the bipartisan Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 in March, Congressional appropriators would, in most years, move on to crafting the next fiscal year's...more
On April 9, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the long-anticipated final Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters (NBPP) for plan year 2019, providing standards for health insurers and the health...more
With ongoing uncertainty and turmoil in the individual health insurance market, Congress has spent weeks debating whether to include a bipartisan Affordable Care Act (ACA) stabilization measure as part of the "must pass"...more
The wide-reaching Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA), passed by Congress and signed by the President on February 9, 2018, extends and modifies dozens of health care programs, including extending funding for two years for...more
2/22/2018
/ ACOs ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D
On February 20, 2018, the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule to expand the availability of Short-Term, Limited Duration Insurance (STLDI). Building on President Trump's...more
Note: All fiscal estimates cited over a ten-year budget window refer to the Fiscal Year 2019-2028 budget window.
The President's fiscal year 2019 (FY19) budget proposal for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)...more
2/20/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Budget ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
HRSA ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Opioid ,
Trump Administration
On Monday, February 12, as part of the President's FY19 budget proposal, the Trump Administration lifted the curtain on a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package that would focus on public private partnerships and increased...more
On February 12, 2018, the White House released the President's Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) budget, outlining a $4.4 trillion federal budget proposal that prioritizes substantially higher spending on the military and on border...more
After a brief federal government shutdown overnight, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 on February 9, 2018. The Senate voted 71-28 and the House voted 240-186 to approve the...more
2/12/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D ,
Opioid
On February 6, 2018, the House voted 242-182 to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to extend government funding until March 23, 2018 (H.R. Res 128). The CR includes provisions to extend funding for a number of Medicare...more
After repeated attempts to repeal failed in 2017, overarching federal reform of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) appears unlikely in 2018. However, ongoing uncertainty and turmoil in the individual insurance market will ensure...more
In 2018, Congress may revisit proposals to enact either per capita caps or a block grant for Medicaid and offer broader flexibility on Medicaid expansion rules. However, major structural reform to Medicaid remains unlikely...more
Health care stakeholders, the Administration, and Congress are likely to continue responding to the worsening nationwide opioid abuse epidemic. Last October, President Trump declared a Nationwide Public Health Emergency to...more
Health care stakeholders are increasing pressure on Congress to continue funding for a series of Medicare "extenders" – Medicare program and payment policies that expired at the end of 2017. Some examples of the extenders...more
Despite President Trump's pledge to rein in prescription drug pricing, the Administration did not take substantial action to address this issue in 2017. With the expected confirmation of Alex Azar – who is a former Eli Lilly...more
In a major development last fall, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized its proposal to pay hospitals less for certain physician-administered drugs purchased through the 340B Drug Discount Program....more
On December 21, Congress passed a bill to continue funding the government through January 19, 2018, averting a potential government shutdown ahead of the December 22, 2017, deadline for the previous funding measure. The House...more
12/26/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Disaster Aid ,
Federal Budget ,
Government Shutdown ,
Health Insurance ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Hurricane Maria ,
Natural Disasters ,
Puerto Rico ,
Trump Administration ,
Wildfires
Congress has now approved the final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) on a party-line vote (51-48 Senate, 224-201 House), sending the GOP tax overhaul to President Donald Trump to be signed into law. The...more
12/22/2017
/ Alternative Minimum Tax ,
Business Taxes ,
Child Tax Credit ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Estate Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
International Tax Issues ,
Local Taxes ,
Mortgage Interest ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform
On Friday, December 15, Republican House and Senate negotiators announced they had come to an agreement on a final tax bill that they expect to vote on this week and that may potentially be signed into law by President Trump...more
12/20/2017
/ Alternative Minimum Tax ,
Business Taxes ,
Child Tax Credit ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Estate Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
International Tax Issues ,
Local Taxes ,
Mortgage Interest ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
After a week of frenzied debate and last minute deal making, the Senate approved a sweeping package of tax cuts by a vote of 51 to 49 with Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) and all Democrats voting in opposition. It remained unclear...more
12/5/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Child Tax Credit ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Estate Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
Individual Mandate ,
Local Taxes ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform
What is the status of funding for rebuilding after the recent disasters in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and what can we expect moving forward?
After each of the big disasters that have...more