Featured in this week’s Update, the Senate votes on September 17, 2018 on opioids legislation (the House is not in session this week); Congress reaches an agreement on fiscal 2019 healthcare funding; the pharma industry last...more
This week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update” includes the latest on a pending Senate vote on opioid legislation as Congress races to enact a response to the crisis before the November election; the Senate votes to expand...more
9/11/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs
This week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update” includes the latest on Congress reconvening after a summer break and facing near-term deadlines on government funding, including for healthcare agencies and programs; whether...more
This week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update” includes the latest on a series of healthcare bills scheduled for House votes, including one to repeal the medical device tax; Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott...more
7/24/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Flexible Savings Accounts (FSAs) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Medical Device Tax ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
MIPS ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Pharmacies ,
Repeal
HOUSE PANEL TO EXAMINE POTENTIAL CHANGES TO STARK LAW -
Senior Health and Human Services (HHS) officials are scheduled to testify this week before a House subcommittee examining whether laws governing physician...more
7/17/2018
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Medicare ,
Physicians ,
Self-Referral ,
Stark Law
LAWMAKERS COOL TO TRUMP PLAN ON HHS, GOVERNMENT REORGANIZATION -
The response from lawmakers on Capitol Hill to the White House plan to reorganize the federal government – including proposed changes to multiple healthcare...more
6/26/2018
/ Biologics ,
Biosimilars ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GAO ,
Medicaid ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Opioid ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Trump Administration
HOUSE OKs DOZENS OF OPIOID-RELATED BILLS; MORE VOTES SCHEDULED -
The House last week approved 38 bills that lawmakers hope will stem the opioid epidemic, and it scheduled votes this week on at least a dozen more....more
6/19/2018
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
GAO ,
Generic Drugs ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
HRSA ,
Medicaid ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B
HOUSE TO VOTE ON DOZENS OF OPIOID BILLS WHILE SENATE READIES COMPREHENSIVE MEASURE - The House this week will begin considering some of the 70 different opioid bills that have been approved by eight different committees,...more
6/12/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
HRSA ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B ,
Trump Administration
RYAN SAYS POTENTIAL COMPROMISE COMING ON RISK EVALUATION AND MITIGATION STRATEGY DRUGS - House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., last week said congressional leaders are trying to hammer out compromise legislation that would make it...more
5/22/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
HELP ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
REMS ,
Right to Try
LAWMAKERS PRAISE, CRITICIZE TRUMP PLAN ON DRUG PRICES -
On Capitol Hill, reaction to President Donald Trump’s “American Patients First” plan to bring down prescription drug prices fell predictably along partisan lines:...more
5/15/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B ,
Trump Administration
GOP LAWMAKERS: EUROPE, CANADA ‘FREE RIDING’ ON US DRUG INNOVATION -
More than two dozen House Republicans last week called on President Donald Trump to leverage upcoming trade negotiations to stop other nations from “free...more
5/8/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B ,
Trump Administration
AZAR ILLNESS DELAYS WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCEMENT ON DRUG PRICING INITIATIVE -
Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar is recovering at his home in Indianapolis following his second hospitalization in less than a week...more
HOUSE PANEL TO QUESTION GOTTLIEB ON FDA BUDGET -
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb will testify Tuesday before a House appropriations subcommittee on his agency’s fiscal 2019 budget – which...more
CONGRESS WORKS TO PASS BUDGET BEFORE FRIDAY’S SHUTDOWN DEADLINE -
House leaders are pushing to schedule a vote this week on a $1.3 trillion budget agreement that would give the Senate enough time to pass it before a Friday...more
HOUSE VOTE SET FOR UPDATED ‘RIGHT-TO-TRY’ LEGISLATION - The House will vote Tuesday on updated but still controversial legislation that would give terminally ill patients wider access to prescription drugs that haven’t won...more
CONGRESS RECONVENES WITH FOCUS ON OPIOID LEGISLATION - Congress reconvenes today after a weeklong recess, and a House subcommittee is scheduled to begin a series of hearings focusing on bipartisan efforts to combat the opioid...more
TRUMP TO RELEASE FISCAL 2019 BUDGET THIS MORNING -
The White House this morning is releasing President Trump’s fiscal 2019 budget blueprint, which will include funding requests for HHS, FDA, CMS and dozens of other...more
Congress is expected this week to approve a fifth stopgap budget bill to keep the government open in advance of a Thursday shutdown deadline, and key healthcare provisions could be included in the budget package.
If...more
After a tumultuous year on Capitol Hill – with repeated efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and stalled attempts to renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program – President Donald Trump isn’t likely to focus on...more
With the government shutdown entering its third day, the Senate scheduled a procedural vote at noon today that could pave the way to end the stalemate – but it’s not clear there’s enough support to break the logjam and reopen...more
1/23/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Government Shutdown ,
HRSA ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
National Institute of Health (NIH)
House Republicans will gather tonight for a GOP-only meeting to plot strategy on passing a stopgap budget bill, but a breakdown among key senators on separate immigration legislation has elevated the risk of a government...more
With less than two weeks before another deadline to avert a government shutdown, Republican leaders on Capitol Hill say they’re cautiously optimistic about crafting a budget agreement that also would include several key...more
Lawmakers return to Capitol Hill this week ahead of more self-imposed deadlines to resolve a series of thorny healthcare policies, including funding for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the rest of the...more
1/3/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Section 340B
Lawmakers last week approved a stopgap budget bill to keep the government open until Dec. 22, creating a pre-Christmas showdown over a host of spending decisions and key healthcare priorities.
Republican leaders on Capitol...more
Congressional Republicans face a Friday deadline to approve a stopgap budget bill to avert a government shutdown, delaying until later this month key decisions on healthcare priorities like renewing children’s insurance and...more
12/5/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Government Shutdown ,
Individual Mandate ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D ,
Repeal