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
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
Reconciliation Text Is Here -
Late Sunday night, May 11, 2025, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce released the much-anticipated budget reconciliation bill text ahead of its scheduled markup on May 13,...more
5/13/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Drug Pricing ,
Executive Orders ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Trump Administration
After a two-week recess, lawmakers are back on Capitol Hill to begin marking up their budget reconciliation legislation. The budget resolution that passed in early April instructs committees to spend or save a certain amount....more
Reconciliation Watch -
Reports indicate that the Senate will move as soon as Wednesday to begin advancing a unified budget plan. The Senate hopes to be able to advance the budget resolution by having the two chambers...more
4/1/2025
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
Trump Administration
Lawmakers are back in Washington, DC, after a week-long recess. Both chambers will be in town for three weeks before a two-week Easter recess in mid-April. With the government funded through the end of this fiscal year, focus...more
This Friday is the deadline to pass a budget or enter a government shutdown. The House released a continuing resolution (CR) over the weekend and is scheduled to be in session only until Wednesday. The House Rules Committee...more
The Trump Administration and 119th Congress will likely be targeting trillions of dollars in savings in the year ahead. Healthcare makes up a significant portion of mandatory spending and therefore likely will be a large part...more
1/24/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Budget ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Payment Reform ,
MedPAC ,
Section 340B ,
Trump Administration
A lot has happened in the last three weeks, so here’s a high-level recap:
Congress successfully, albeit rockily, passed a continuing resolution that will fund the government through March 14, 2025. That legislation...more
1/7/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
Telehealth ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. House
Watchful Waiting: Three Weeks Left in Lame Duck -
Congress returns on Tuesday to begin the remaining three weeks of the lame duck session. Lawmakers have a packed agenda, and they have 18 days to pass a bill funding the...more
12/3/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disaster Aid ,
Farm Bill ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Medicare ,
NDAA ,
Telehealth
Election Day 2024 has come and gone. Republicans have all but officially achieved a trifecta – control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives.
Both the House and Senate return today for the lame duck...more
11/13/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Donald Trump ,
Election Results ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Members of Congress ,
Presidential Elections ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Senate Committees ,
Trump Administration
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
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
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NDAA ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Senate Committees
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
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Final Rules ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
IT’S SHUTDOWN WEEK . . . AGAIN -
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Congress returns to session this week, with precious little time to avert a looming partial government shutdown at midnight on Friday. After...more
2/27/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS MOVES FORWARD -
Over the weekend, negotiators in Congress agreed to certain spending allocations in order to fund various government agencies through most of the year. With both bodies in session...more
PARTIAL SNOW DAY, PARTIAL SHUT DOWN?
Much of the federal government is closed today because of yesterday’s significant (for DC) and unexpected snowfall. However, part of the federal government is set to shut down this...more
GOVERNMENT FUNDING EXPIRES SOON -
The government will run out of funding in 11 days, on November 17. The House will continue to work to advance annual appropriations bills this week. However, a continuing resolution (CR)...more
11/7/2023
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Federal Funding ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Section 340B ,
U.S. House
On November 2, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the rule Medicare Program; Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System: Remedy for the Calendar Years 2018–2022 to addresses how the...more
11/6/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Final Rules ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B
Do We End the Week with a Shutdown?
That is the question of the week. We’ll know the answer in five days, but right now, “yes” is a far more plausible answer than “no.”
On the House side, Speaker McCarthy will first...more
9/26/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Government Shutdown ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
On July 7, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the proposed rule Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System: Remedy for 340B-Acquired Drugs Purchased in Cost Years 2018-2022 to address how...more
We hope that you, like Congress, enjoyed some time off last week and are ready to dive in—for a few days at least. As we previously reminded you, the House is only in session 12 days in July, then away for August recess, and...more
7/11/2023
/ Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
MPFS ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Payment Systems ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Request For Information ,
Section 340B ,
U.S. Treasury
The proposed rule would make transparency-related updates to state directed payments (SDPs). It would also require states to submit an annual payment analysis that compares managed care plans’ payment rates for routine...more
On May 3, 2023 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the proposed rule Medicaid Program; Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services. The proposed rule seeks to increase transparency in payment rates,...more
Debt-Limit Discussions and Ending the PHE -
On Tuesday, President Biden will meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader...more