The U.S. Senate is in session for three days this week while the U.S. House of Representatives is in recess all week. Both chambers will return for a week before breaking for the July 4 recess. Negotiations on the...more
Looking Ahead: House to Vote on Compromise Budget Resolution On the heels of the U.S. Senate's passage of a compromise budget resolution, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider the budget resolution on the...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
Holland & Knight Health Dose Holland & Knight Health Dose is an in-depth weekly dose of legislative and regulatory insights to keep stakeholders abreast of happenings in Washington, D.C., impacting the health sector....more
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
Should Congress Stay or Should They Go Now? Congress has two more weeks to extend government funding past the September 30 deadline through a short-term continuing resolution (CR). So, the question isn’t really if they...more
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) was signed into law by President Biden on August 16, 2022, and includes key sections addressing climate and clean energy, corporate taxes and health care. The health care provisions...more
Neil deGrasse Tyson routinely reminds us that January 1 is “a cosmically arbitrary event, carrying no Astronomical significance,” and that bodes well for Congress, whose new year is just getting started. Sure, it’s...more
Although I previously declared January 2024 Medicare Advantage (MA) Month, this week has also been filled with news about the MA program. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rate announcement...more
Earlier this week, President Biden released his Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 President’s Budget. As a reminder, every year, the White House releases a budget that serves as its official funding request to Congress for the following...more
Total Medicare expenditures are projected to exceed $1 trillion in 2023 and grow at an average rate of 7.8% per year from 2025 to 2031. Federal health policymakers, including Congress, are looking for ways to rein in spending...more
There have been several significant developments with regard to Federal government telehealth policy. These include the recently enacted appropriations bill funding the Federal government for the balance of the fiscal year, a...more
On August 6, 2019, CMS finalized its 2020 hospice rule, including adopting, without substantial modification, two controversial and material changes to the hospice benefit: Rebasing payment rates to shift about $500...more
President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act on December 13, 2016. The act encourages biomedical research investment and facilitates innovation review and approval processes, but also serves as a vehicle for a wide...more
On November 30, 2016, the House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Cures Act, a bill intended to modernize health care delivery and speed up and improve medical research and innovations by removing bureaucratic...more
On November 2, 2015, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that significantly changes how Medicare pays for outpatient services furnished at certain hospital locations. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (“BBA”)...more
Ways & Means Leadership Changes – Health Policy Implications Looming: As Congress pushes forward with a two-year budget deal, and new Speaker Paul Ryan begins his tenure as the top Republican in the House of...more
Without fanfare or any significant discussion, the Bipartisan Budget Act (Act) contains the first legislative action related to provider-based status—and it is a sweeping action with negative financial consequences to many...more
Legislation being drafted as part of a budget deal between members of Congress and the White House includes language that will significantly alter the future of hospital-based outpatient care. The “discussion draft” of the...more
On October 26, 2015, Congressional and White House budget negotiators released the legislative text of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. The Act is aimed primarily at lifting the Federal debt limit and avoiding a looming...more
On October 8 and 9, 2015, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held its second meeting of the 2015-2016 session. Commissioners met to examine ways to improve the Medicare Advantage (MA) payment system, including...more
Cuts in Mandatory Entitlement Programs Center of Budget Negotiations: As budget negotiators from both sides of the Hill come together to work out a two-year budget deal, determining how sequestration relief will be paid for...more
On September 10-11, 2015, MedPAC held a meeting to discuss several issues related to the Medicare program, including (1) improving the Open Payments program, which makes public the payments from drug and device manufacturers...more
On September 8, 2015, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) released its comments to the proposed rule that will begin implementing the new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for physician services, in...more
This Week: CMS Releases Guidance on Fast Track Process for 1115 Waivers for Medicaid and CHIP... Healthcare.gov CEO Sends Letter to State Insurance Commissioners Concerning 2016 Premium Decisions... Medicare Board of Trustees...more