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
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Final Rules ,
GAO ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HRSA ,
Legislative Agendas ,
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 is back from a long August recess. However, it is only back for a few weeks. During this window, there is only one major thing Congress must do: extend government funding past the September 30 deadline through a...more
9/10/2024
/ Congressional Committees ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Regulatory Agenda
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
/ Abortion ,
Congressional Committees ,
DEA ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
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 Staying Busy The House has started its August recess, so members are out until September 9, 2024. The Senate is in session, before joining the House in recess next week. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor...more
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Holds Hearing on PBMs. Republicans and Democrats shared concerns about the role and practices of PBMs. While generally supportive of free market principles, Republicans criticized...more
WILL WE EVER SEE “PRECEDENTED TIMES” AGAIN?
If the last month, if not the last several years, has felt like emotional-political whiplash, it is for good reason. We’ve witnessed the US Supreme Court issue landmark rulings,...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
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Data Privacy ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
ONC ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
Congress is back after being on recess for the July 4th holiday. This week brings several healthcare-related hearings, including a Senate Aging Committee hearing on healthcare costs, a Senate HELP Committee hearing on medical...more
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 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
Telehealth ,
U.S. House
HOUSE PARTIES -
The Senate is in recess until July 8. The House returns tomorrow and will be in session until its Independence Day break next week. (Quick note: the Healthcare Preview will also be on break next 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
The House is in recess this week, while the Senate is in today, tomorrow and Thursday. With this being a short work week, there is limited committee activity. However, the Senate Finance Committee is holding a hearing on...more
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
Congress Tackles Defense, Reproductive Health in Busy Week Ahead Congress is in session Tuesday through Friday of this week, and it is sure to be a politically charged few days. The House is bringing forth the 2025 National...more
6/11/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NDAA ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Senate Committees
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
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Section 340B ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
Congress is in session for three weeks in June and also will be session for three weeks in July before the August recess. This week we continue to see committee activity examining various aspects of the healthcare space....more
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
Congress is in session this week, with the Senate in today and the House returning tomorrow. They will both be out next week for the Memorial Day recess break. As such, this will be a busy week in Congress, though once again...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
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Laboratory Developed Tests ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare Payment Reform ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
Both chambers of Congress are out of session today and return for the rest of the week.
Most healthcare priorities remain out of the congressional spotlight this week, but telehealth is still top of mind. As we...more
5/14/2024
/ Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Final Rules ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
HELP ,
Laboratory Developed Tests ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
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) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
Both chambers of Congress are in session this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The Senate is out today, and the House is out on Friday.
Both chambers will also hold healthcare-related hearings on Wednesday morning...more
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) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House