This week, we are back doing a familiar two-step with Congress needing to pass a government-funding bill by Thursday. For all the issues in the health space that need to be addressed this week, it is eerily quiet out there. This could mean that negotiators are inching closer to an agreement and staying quiet to preserve the progress made. Final spending deal or another short-term CR? All health care provisions or a select few? Those are the questions to be answered in the next few days (actually hours as the House typically needs to let their Members know what is in a bill days in advance).

Of the health care provisions, it seems that Community Health Centers (CHC) has the most political support to get addressed this week. CHCs enjoy bipartisan support, are in growing need of funding stability, and with CHIP off the table this would likely be the next priority. What rides with CHCs remains to be seen, but advocates for therapy caps, MIECHV, the Special Diabetes Program, and DSH payments are rightly concerned about the implications of being left behind for the next legislative vehicle.