On February 2, 2024, a bipartisan group of six U.S. senators released much-anticipated draft legislation to reform the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) 340B drug discount program. Known as the SUSTAIN...more
With Congress again delaying full resolution of fiscal year 2024 (FY24) federal spending legislation, now until at least early March, health care stakeholders are once again left waiting to resolve several priority issues. ...more
As Congress returns and summer turns to fall, the federal health care legislative agenda remains crowded. While much near-term energy is focused on September 30 and averting a shutdown of the federal government before the...more
As congressional leaders focus on passing an agreement negotiated over the weekend by the Biden administration and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that would increase the debt limit through early 2025 and prevent a potential...more
As the Biden administration moves ahead to implement provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including those related to drug negotiation and inflationary rebate, the administration announced three Medicare and...more
Republicans are in line to regain control of the House of Representatives, although with a narrower margin than predicted. As of Wednesday (Nov. 9) evening, Republicans are just over 200 votes in the House, needing 218 to...more
With President Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law on August 16, the next big question is what the last third of 2022 will bring. Enacting the IRA takes the “will it or won’t it happen” issue of...more
The Senate Finance Committee’s release of a draft bill focused on addressing youth and adolescent mental and behavioral health challenges marks the latest positive indicator of bipartisan interest in enacting legislation to...more
As the 117th Congress moves into its second legislative session, there is no shortage of health care policy issues dotting the landscape. The COVID-19 pandemic, legislative gridlock and a 2021 that was largely locked down by...more
Nearly five months after releasing their initial 21st Century Cures 2.0 draft, Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) introduced the long-anticipated bill on November 15. The bill includes...more
On August 23, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration released the PDUFA VII commitment letter, which contains the agency’s performance goals for the five-year window (Fiscal Year 2023 to 2027) covered by the next iteration of...more
Following months of anticipation by stakeholders including patient organizations, research institutions and medical product developers, Representatives Fred Upton (R-MI) and Diana DeGette (D-DO) released a 21st Century Cures...more
On May 12, 2021, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER or the Institute) released plans to begin an annual examination into health insurance drug coverage policies to assess “fair access” to prescription drugs....more
After much discussion, House Democrats have announced they will allow members to request funding for specific projects as part of the process for assembling the spending bills that must be completed by September 30 to fund...more
As Democrats in Congress move toward using budget reconciliation to advance a nearly $2 trillion COVID-19 response bill, a group of 10 Republican senators are pushing a more targeted and limited proposal that weighs in at...more
The looming 50-50 Senate, in which ties will be broken by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, has triggered much interest in the budget reconciliation process. Budget reconciliation has many complexities, but at its core it...more
In an attempt to break the logjam on a COVID-19 relief package before Congress adjourns, a group of bipartisan lawmakers put forth a $908 billion relief package that seems to be a middle-ground between the Democrats’ $2...more
The following provides a high-level overview of how the November 3, 2020 election results will impact certain health care issues and policies. This analysis assumes that the Biden-Harris Electoral College win will be...more
11/16/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Presidential Elections ,
Trump Administration
On Monday, July 27, Senate Republicans released a series of bills to embody the latest COVID-19 relief package. Proposing several separate bills at once gives the Senate the option of passing provisions that enjoy broader...more
7/29/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Health Care Providers ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
Telehealth ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Virus Testing
On May 12, U.S. House Democrats introduced a massive, $3 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, and are expected to pass it as soon as this week. This...more
On Tuesday the United States Senate passed by unanimous consent a $484 billion expansion of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including $310 billion for the popular Paycheck Protection Program and...more
Following days of protracted negotiations, Congress is heading toward enacting a $2 trillion measure to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Anticipated to clear the House of Representatives on Friday and be promptly signed...more
One day after H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, a relief package, was signed into law, Senate Republicans threw down their marker for an even more significant phase three relief package that includes...more
The results of the midterm elections will bring about a significant change to the federal health care policy landscape in 2019.
Democratic control of the House of Representatives will effectively end any legislative...more
On October 26, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a 362-page proposed regulation that makes changes to three expected areas:
- New telehealth flexibilities for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans....more