Congress continues a quiet recess. Lawmakers will be back on September 2, 2025. CMS releases final FY 2026 payment regulations. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated payment rates in the final fiscal year...more
8/25/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Education ,
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Drug Pricing ,
Executive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
One Big Beautiful Bill Act ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF program) ,
SCOTUS
Senate HELP Committee advances legislation, examines healthcare affordability. The legislation would reauthorize expiring programs, including the Over-the-Counter Monograph Drug User Fee Program.
Senate Appropriations...more
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
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) ,
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Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
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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 ,
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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
Senate Prepares to Take Up Reconciliation Bill. Discussions about the bill’s real-world implications continued during this week’s recess....more
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) ,
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Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
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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
Senate Passes Budget Resolution. Last week, the Senate and House Budget Committees each passed separate, and very different, budget resolutions as their first steps toward negotiating a unified budget resolution that must...more
RFK Jr. Confirmed as HHS Secretary. In a 52 – 48 Senate vote, Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. was confirmed as the next HHS secretary. All Democrats voted no, and Sen. McConnell (R-KY) was the only Republican to join them. He...more
2/14/2025
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Congressional Committees ,
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Executive Orders ,
Healthcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
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) ,
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Gender Identity ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Opioid ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Public Health ,
Senate Committees ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. House