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
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Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
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Government Agencies ,
Medicare Advantage ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
New Legislation ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Trump Administration
118th Congress Continues to Grapple with Contentious CR. With the collapse of Republican support for the negotiated continuing resolution (CR) package, as of the time of publication on Friday at 3:00 PM EST, Congress is still...more
12/23/2024
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U.S. House
118th Congress Wraps Up -
Congress has five days to complete remaining business before the December 20 government funding deadline. It is still expected that the government will be funded via a short-term continuing...more
Congress Negotiates Healthcare Extenders, Continues to Plan for 2025. Lawmakers continue negotiations to wrap up the 118th Congress and pass remaining must-do policies, including government funding, likely through a...more
12/9/2024
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Section 340B ,
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U.S. House
Congress Continues Election Recess. Members are on the campaign trail and are scheduled to return for the lame duck session on November 12, 2024.
CMS Releases Proposed NBPP for 2026. The proposed Notice of Benefit and...more
10/14/2024
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U.S. House
Congress Votes on CR, Health-Related Legislation. After reaching a deal over the weekend, both chambers passed a CR to avoid a government shutdown and fund the federal government through December 20, 2024. This tees up a push...more
9/30/2024
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Final Rules ,
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Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
One More Week Until Election Recess -
The House and Senate are in Washington, DC, for one more week before leaving until after election day. Over the weekend, congressional leaders struck a deal on a continuing resolution...more
Senate Judiciary Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Georgia Abortion Ban. The field hearing examined how Georgia’s abortion ban impacts women’s health, and featured patient and physician witnesses....more
9/23/2024
/ Abortion ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Georgia ,
HRSA ,
Human Rights ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
State Bans ,
Telehealth
Should Congress Stay or Should They Go Now?
Congress has two more weeks to extend government funding past the September 30 deadline through a short-term continuing resolution (CR). So, the question isn’t really if they...more
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 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
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 ,
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Data Privacy ,
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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
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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
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
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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
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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 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
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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
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Congress is back in session this week, with the House in today and the Senate returning tomorrow. They are back for a four-week stretch until the Memorial Day recess break. Congress has already moved many of the major bills...more
4/30/2024
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Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) ,
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A Quiet Healthcare Week on Capitol Hill. Congress was largely in recess this week, although the Senate returned briefly to complete consideration of a long-awaited foreign aid bill. Both chambers will return to session the...more
4/26/2024
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Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Nursing Homes ,
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Prescription Drugs ,
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Section 340B ,
Senate Committees ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
U.S. House
CONGRESS AWAY, ADMINISTRATION STILL IN PLAY -
Congress is mostly in recess this week, with the exception of the Senate returning on Tuesday, April 23, to consider the House-passed foreign aid package. Thus there are no...more
House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Cybersecurity. During the hearing, there was bipartisan concern about UnitedHealth Group’s response to the Change Healthcare cyberattack and consensus around the...more
4/18/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
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Health Care Providers ,
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Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Payment Systems ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
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Senate Committees ,
U.S. House