Having approved a two-year budget agreement in February and the bipartisan Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 in March, Congressional appropriators would, in most years, move on to crafting the next fiscal year's...more
On April 9, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the long-anticipated final Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters (NBPP) for plan year 2019, providing standards for health insurers and the health...more
On February 20, 2018, the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule to expand the availability of Short-Term, Limited Duration Insurance (STLDI). Building on President Trump's...more
Note: All fiscal estimates cited over a ten-year budget window refer to the Fiscal Year 2019-2028 budget window.
The President's fiscal year 2019 (FY19) budget proposal for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)...more
2/20/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Budget ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
HRSA ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Opioid ,
Trump Administration
On Monday, February 12, as part of the President's FY19 budget proposal, the Trump Administration lifted the curtain on a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package that would focus on public private partnerships and increased...more
On February 12, 2018, the White House released the President's Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) budget, outlining a $4.4 trillion federal budget proposal that prioritizes substantially higher spending on the military and on border...more
After repeated attempts to repeal failed in 2017, overarching federal reform of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) appears unlikely in 2018. However, ongoing uncertainty and turmoil in the individual insurance market will ensure...more
In 2018, Congress may revisit proposals to enact either per capita caps or a block grant for Medicaid and offer broader flexibility on Medicaid expansion rules. However, major structural reform to Medicaid remains unlikely...more
On December 21, Congress passed a bill to continue funding the government through January 19, 2018, averting a potential government shutdown ahead of the December 22, 2017, deadline for the previous funding measure. The House...more
12/26/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Disaster Aid ,
Federal Budget ,
Government Shutdown ,
Health Insurance ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Hurricane Maria ,
Natural Disasters ,
Puerto Rico ,
Trump Administration ,
Wildfires
On Friday, December 15, Republican House and Senate negotiators announced they had come to an agreement on a final tax bill that they expect to vote on this week and that may potentially be signed into law by President Trump...more
12/20/2017
/ Alternative Minimum Tax ,
Business Taxes ,
Child Tax Credit ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Estate Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
International Tax Issues ,
Local Taxes ,
Mortgage Interest ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
With less than a month remaining before the December 8 deadline for adopting an appropriations deal and the December 15 deadline to lift the debt ceiling, it is increasingly likely that Congress will once again pass a...more
After dominating the agenda for most of 2017, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) seemed to take a backseat at first as Republicans shifted their focus to enacting tax legislation. The initial momentum behind the bipartisan...more
11/20/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Individual Mandate ,
Open Enrollment ,
Repeal ,
Trump Administration
On October 17, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) announced they had agreed on a proposal for a narrow, short-term individual market...more
On October 12, the Trump Administration announced that it would immediately terminate payments for Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSRs), which subsidize health coverage for low-income enrollees in the Affordable Care Act's (ACA)...more
On October 6, the Trump Administration issued two new interim final rules that significantly expand exemptions for employers to the ACA's requirements to provide free contraceptive coverage. The new regulations, effective...more
President Trump is expected to issue an executive order in the coming days that would direct federal agencies to expand access to association health plans (AHPs), which would be exempt from the ACA's coverage requirements and...more
President Trump came to an agreement with congressional Democrats to extend FY17 federal appropriations and suspend the debt limit until December 8. The deal, which took congressional Republicans by surprise, was paired with...more
Following defections from Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), John McCain (R-AZ), and Susan Collins (R-ME), Senate Republican leaders announced on September 26 that they did not have the votes for the Graham-Cassidy plan – the last...more
On September 28, Congress approved a six-month extension to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization, heading off a partial shutdown of the FAA. Expect negotiations over House Transportation and Infrastructure...more
This week, the debate over the Affordable Care Act (ACA) gained new momentum in two separate, but connected channels. As the fiscal year (FY) budget reconciliation window enabling expedited passage of an ACA repeal draws to a...more
9/21/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Block Grants ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Governors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Political Parties ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Repeal ,
Stabilization Issues ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration ,
Waivers
Long a priority of House and Senate Republicans and the White House, expect tax reform to take center stage this fall. Originally, the White House was expected to drive the discussion over tax reform and promised to release a...more
With the October 1 start of fiscal year 2018 coming closer, the White House, Senate and House remain far apart on the 12 regular appropriations bills that collectively fund the federal government. At this time, all parties...more
According to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, the U.S. will hit its debt limit at some point in late September. Congress has until then to raise the federal debt ceiling before the Department of the Treasury's so-called...more
At the end of the month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization is set to expire. If not reauthorized, authority to fund the FAA and the nation's airway system will cease. As has been previously reported, in...more
In May, President Trump initiated the renegotiation process for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the landmark 1994 trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Direct talks, which began in August,...more