Senate Committees Continue Nomination Hearings. The Senate VA Committee held a hearing for VA secretary nominee Doug Collins and subsequently voted for his confirmation with broad bipartisan support. His confirmation vote...more
1/27/2025
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Budget ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
World Health Organization
House Committees Organize, Senate Committees Begin Nomination Hearings. House healthcare committees held organizing meetings and announced subcommittee assignments, while Senate committees held nomination hearings for...more
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
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Machine Learning ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Technology ,
U.S. House
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
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Machine Learning ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Section 340B ,
Technology ,
U.S. House
Congress Begins Disaster Relief Efforts, Continues Organizing for 119th Congress. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, lawmakers are focused on funding an emergency supplemental disaster relief package. President...more
11/25/2024
/ Cybersecurity ,
DEA ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Trump Administration
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
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
GAO ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
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
/ Abortion ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Final Rules ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP ,
HRSA ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid Drug Rebate Program ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State Bans ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
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 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
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
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
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
May 11, 2024, marked one year since the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and not much has changed in Medicare telehealth policy. We are still operating under temporary waivers and flexibilities and, as a...more
5/15/2024
/ Controlled Substances ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DEA ,
Electronic Prescribing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Life Sciences ,
Mental Health ,
Patient Access ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Public Health Emergency ,
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