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
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
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) ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Opioid ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Public Health ,
Senate Committees ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. House
Senate Finance, HELP Committees Hold RFK Jr. Nomination Hearings. RFK Jr., nominated for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), testified before the Senate Finance Committee on January 29 and before the Senate Health,...more
1/31/2025
/ Abortion ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Executive Orders ,
Food Safety ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Senate Finance Committee ,
Transgender ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration
One of the Biden Administration’s last healthcare regs was a proposed rule that, if finalized, would make significant changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security Rule to...more
1/30/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Business Associates ,
Comment Period ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Risk Management ,
Trump Administration
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
On December 17, 2024, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP) published the Health Data,...more
1/15/2025
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Compliance ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
OCR ,
Privacy Laws ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues
119th Congress Begins. The new Congress began with key membership announcements for relevant healthcare committees. Cures 2.1 White Paper Published. The document outlines the 21st Century Cures 2.1 legislative proposal,...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
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
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Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Machine Learning ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Technology ,
U.S. House
Senate Special Committee on Aging Holds Hearing on People with Disabilities. Senators and witnesses acknowledged the significant barriers that exist for Americans with disabilities and discussed current and proposed federal...more
12/16/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Disabilities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
GAO ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) ,
MedPAC ,
NDAA ,
OIG ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House ,
Veterans' Benefits
The No Surprises Act, a law that ended the practice of “balance billing” by certain out-of-network providers, was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 on December 27, 2020. While the law passed...more
12/12/2024
/ Billing ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
No Surprises Act (NSA) ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Trump Administration
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 Returns for Lame Duck Session. The House and Senate returned this week, kicking off the post-election lame duck session. The focus this week was not on legislating, but on organizing for the upcoming 119th Congress,...more
11/18/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Members of Congress ,
Presidential Elections ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Senate Committees ,
Trump Administration
Republicans Win Control of White House and Senate, Seem Poised to Maintain Control of House. Former President Donald Trump will return to the White House, and Republicans also gained control of the Senate. Some toss-up House...more
11/11/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Donald Trump ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Presidential Elections ,
Proposed Rules ,
Senate Committees ,
Senate Judiciary Committee ,
U.S. House
On November 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the calendar year (CY) 2025 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems Final Rule [CMS-1809-F],...more
On November 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the calendar year (CY) 2025 Revisions to Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Other Revisions to Medicare Part B...more
Have Medicare physician fee-for-service payment rates increased for X-ray services? How have remote patient monitoring prices evolved over the last five years? How much is your service paid in Alaska compared to Alabama?...more
On October 29, 2024, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP) released a fact sheet titled “Information Blocking Reminders Related to API Technology.” The fact...more
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
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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
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
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 ,
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DEA ,
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Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
Telehealth