Below is Alston & Bird’s Health Care Week in Review, which provides a synopsis of the latest news in health care regulations, notices, and guidance; federal legislation and congressional committee action; reports, studies,...more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE - - President Trumps signs OBBBA into law. After months of debate, Congress passed and President Trump signed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), into law on July 4, 2025. - Senate HELP...more
Both chambers are in session this week. Senate Republicans will continue to revise the House-passed reconciliation package. Disagreements remain over the overall size of the package as well as a host of outstanding issues...more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE - - House Passes Reconciliation Package. The package now moves to the Senate, where substantive changes, including in healthcare, will likely be made. - HHS Secretary Kennedy, FDA Commissioner Makary...more
MAHA and More Medicaid - Late Sunday night, May 18, 2025, the House Budget Committee voted to advance the reconciliation package drafted by the Energy and Commerce Committee and Ways and Means Committee last week. The four...more
Reconciliation Hits a Speedbump - As of May 6, 2025, it will not be what was anticipated on Capitol Hill. Multiple committees, including the House Energy and Commerce Committee, reportedly had planned to spend this week...more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE - - House Committees Begin Reconciliation Markups. Non-health-related committees moved forward this week, with the House Energy and Commerce Committee tentatively scheduled to mark up its legislative text in...more
Final Week Before Easter Recess - Focus this week on Capitol Hill will remain on reconciliation, as Republicans aim to pass the unified budget resolution in the House before leaving on Thursday for the two-week Easter...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
Blood rolled in the streets at the Georgia State Capitol on Thursday — the LifeSouth Bloodmobile, to be exact. While some lawmakers and lobbyists chose to voluntarily give the gift of life, for others, it was a painful...more
After the Presidents Day long weekend, the House is out of session this week. The Senate is in session, with a continued focus on nominations and potential floor action on the budget resolution that the Senate Budget...more
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
Visitors to the Georgia State Capitol were delighted by the rhythm and artistry of a lion dance in the South Wing on Wednesday as the Asian American Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus hosted its second annual Lunar New Year...more
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
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
As we near the end of the 118th Congress and head into a lame duck session postelection, policymakers are eyeing opportunities to reauthorize health programs that expire in December and also pass larger health reforms before...more
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
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
A Quiet Healthcare Week on Capitol Hill. Congress was largely in recess this week, although the Senate returned briefly to complete consideration of a long-awaited foreign aid bill. Both chambers will return to session the...more
House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Cybersecurity. During the hearing, there was bipartisan concern about UnitedHealth Group’s response to the Change Healthcare cyberattack and consensus around the...more
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