It’s been more than two weeks since the release of the CY 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule. We’ve had a chance to digest our initial helping and now we’re ready for seconds. We thought we would see...more
7/31/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Digital Health ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Insurance Industry ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Fraud ,
Mental Health ,
Technology ,
Telehealth
CBO releases final scores for OBBBA. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will increase the uninsurance rate by 10 million individuals over 10 years.
House Energy and...more
7/28/2025
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Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Funding ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare Advantage ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Ways and Means Committee
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- OBBBA implementation begins. While the administration focuses on implementing the new law, some lawmakers are already discussing adjustments to health provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act...more
7/21/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Fraud ,
GAO ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
MIPS ,
New Legislation ,
OPPS ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Senate Committees ,
Technology ,
Telehealth ,
Trump Administration
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- President Trumps signs OBBBA into law. After months of debate, Congress passed and President Trump signed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), into law on July 4, 2025.
- Senate HELP...more
7/14/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
ESRD ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Budget ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP ,
Immigrants ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Health Emergency ,
SCOTUS ,
Senate Committees ,
Trump Administration
Many healthcare programs are extended for specific time periods, as short as one or two years or as long as 10, and are usually attached to a larger piece of must-pass legislation. Additionally, while traditional...more
Reconciliation aftermath -
Last week, President Trump signed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, into law after months of work on the reconciliation package. This week, things will slightly cool down in Washington, DC....more
7/8/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Federal Funding ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
Senate Reconciliation Process Continues. Republicans are adjusting language to comply with Senate rules and appease various wings of the party....more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- Reconciliation Moves Forward. Senate committees continue to release their reconciliation provisions.
- NIH Director Testifies on FY 2026 Budget. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Bhattacharya...more
6/16/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Trump Administration
UPDATE: On June 4, 2025, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released updated cost estimates of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. We have updated our summary of the bill’s health provisions to reflect these new CBO...more
Senate Continues Reconciliation Consideration -
This week, Senate consideration of the reconciliation package will continue, and more text will be made public as the process begins to move out from behind closed doors....more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- Senate Begins Work on Reconciliation. Democrats prepared to file points of order to exclude certain provisions under the Byrd rule, while Republicans discussed key health provisions.
- White House Sends...more
Senate Prepares to Take Up Reconciliation Bill. Discussions about the bill’s real-world implications continued during this week’s recess....more
Short Congressional Recess, Short Preview -
While Congress is in recess this week, we are still on reconciliation watch as consideration of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act moves to the Senate. We are on the lookout for a...more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- House Passes Reconciliation Package. The package now moves to the Senate, where substantive changes, including in healthcare, will likely be made.
- HHS Secretary Kennedy, FDA Commissioner Makary...more
5/27/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Executive Orders ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare Advantage ,
New Legislation ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- Key House Health Committees Advance Reconciliation, Bill Held Up in Budget Committee. The Energy and Commerce Committee and Ways and Means Committee passed their recommendations for reconciliation out of...more
5/19/2025
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Executive Orders ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Senate Judiciary Committee ,
Trump Administration
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- Republicans Advance Reconciliation Debate. Work continued behind the scenes among Republicans to reach consensus on Medicaid policies, with a House Energy and Commerce Committee markup announced for May...more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- House Committees Begin Reconciliation Markups. Non-health-related committees moved forward this week, with the House Energy and Commerce Committee tentatively scheduled to mark up its legislative text in...more
HELP Committee Releases 340B Report. Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Chair Cassidy (R-LA) released findings from his investigation and laid out potential reforms to the 340B Drug Pricing Program....more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
House Passes Concurrent Budget Resolution for Reconciliation Process. Passage of the resolution didn’t resolve the policy differences between the House and the Senate. Those still need to be addressed as...more
Government Is Funded, Congress at Home for the Week. On March 15, 2025, President Trump signed a continuing resolution (CR) into law that funds the government and provides short-term extensions of certain healthcare programs...more
3/24/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Technology Sector ,
Telehealth ,
Trump Administration
THIS WEEK’S DOSE -
- Congress Debates Government Funding. A continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through September passed the House and may pass the Senate today.
- Senate HELP Committee Advances NIH, FDA...more
3/17/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda
Government Funding Deadline, Healthcare Program Expirations Approach. Following recent House and Senate passage of their competing budget resolutions, Congress’ attention has now turned to the March 14, 2025, government...more
3/10/2025
/ Continuing Resolution ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EMTALA ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Senate Finance Committee ,
Trump Administration
House Passes Budget Resolution. On February 25, the House voted 217 – 215 to advance its version of a budget resolution to outline the reconciliation process. In a dramatic display of how quickly things can change, the vote...more
3/3/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
The Trump administration will have its own vision on value-based care, creating specific priorities for the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), the federal government’s primary testing ground for payment and...more
2/26/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CMMI ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Trump Administration ,
Value-Based Care ,
Value-Based Payments
Key Nominations Move Forward. The Senate Finance Committee advanced Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr.’s nomination to lead the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) in a 14 – 13 vote along party lines. The nomination now...more
2/10/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Opioid ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Public Health ,
Senate Committees ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. House