ACA TAXES ON CHOPPING BLOCK IN YEAR-END BUDGET DEAL -
Congressional leaders are poised to announce an agreement today that would permanently repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) taxes on medical device manufacturers,...more
Below is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session. Note that because Congress will be in recess for the Memorial Day holiday, the next “Capitol Hill Healthcare...more
Below is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session. Highlights this week: Pharma industry CEOs testify before a Senate committee; House and Senate panels probe...more
Below is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session. Highlights this week: shutdown risk increases as talks stall; Gottlieb’s Hill testimony postponed; more bills...more
Below is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session. Highlights this week: With the shutdown over (for now), the FDA is back in business; two hearings spotlight drug...more
Highlights this week: Gottlieb warns FDA’s funds running low as shutdown continues; House Dems launch sweeping probe on drug prices, Senate approves Medicaid measures, and more....more
Highlights this week: how the partial government shutdown is affecting operations at the FDA; House Democrats take steps to defend the ACA; the House votes this week to renew emergency health response programs; new senators...more
Highlights this week: Healthcare legislative priorities are caught up in a separate spending debate that could lead to a partial government shutdown; some GOP lawmakers push back on Trump’s Part B pilot program; a key...more
Highlights this week: Democrats’ takeover of the House will yield big changes for healthcare policy in 2019; several GOP lawmakers active in healthcare policy are defeated; pharma pushes for Part D changes in the lame duck;...more
11/13/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part A ,
Medicare Part D ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drug Coverage
Included this week is an update on congressional efforts to finish opioids response legislation; efforts by pharmaceutical manufacturers to change discounts they are required to provide Medicare beneficiaries in the Part D...more
This week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update” includes the latest on a pending Senate vote on opioid legislation as Congress races to enact a response to the crisis before the November election; the Senate votes to expand...more
9/11/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs
HOUSE PANEL TO EXAMINE POTENTIAL CHANGES TO STARK LAW -
Senior Health and Human Services (HHS) officials are scheduled to testify this week before a House subcommittee examining whether laws governing physician...more
7/17/2018
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Medicare ,
Physicians ,
Self-Referral ,
Stark Law
LAWMAKERS COOL TO TRUMP PLAN ON HHS, GOVERNMENT REORGANIZATION -
The response from lawmakers on Capitol Hill to the White House plan to reorganize the federal government – including proposed changes to multiple healthcare...more
6/26/2018
/ Biologics ,
Biosimilars ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GAO ,
Medicaid ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Opioid ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Trump Administration
HOUSE OKs DOZENS OF OPIOID-RELATED BILLS; MORE VOTES SCHEDULED -
The House last week approved 38 bills that lawmakers hope will stem the opioid epidemic, and it scheduled votes this week on at least a dozen more....more
6/19/2018
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
GAO ,
Generic Drugs ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
HRSA ,
Medicaid ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B
HOUSE TO VOTE ON DOZENS OF OPIOID BILLS WHILE SENATE READIES COMPREHENSIVE MEASURE - The House this week will begin considering some of the 70 different opioid bills that have been approved by eight different committees,...more
6/12/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
HRSA ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B ,
Trump Administration
RYAN SAYS POTENTIAL COMPROMISE COMING ON RISK EVALUATION AND MITIGATION STRATEGY DRUGS - House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., last week said congressional leaders are trying to hammer out compromise legislation that would make it...more
5/22/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
HELP ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
REMS ,
Right to Try
LAWMAKERS PRAISE, CRITICIZE TRUMP PLAN ON DRUG PRICES -
On Capitol Hill, reaction to President Donald Trump’s “American Patients First” plan to bring down prescription drug prices fell predictably along partisan lines:...more
5/15/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B ,
Trump Administration
GOP LAWMAKERS: EUROPE, CANADA ‘FREE RIDING’ ON US DRUG INNOVATION -
More than two dozen House Republicans last week called on President Donald Trump to leverage upcoming trade negotiations to stop other nations from “free...more
5/8/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B ,
Trump Administration
HOUSE PANEL TO QUESTION GOTTLIEB ON FDA BUDGET -
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb will testify Tuesday before a House appropriations subcommittee on his agency’s fiscal 2019 budget – which...more
CONGRESS RECONVENES, WITH A FOCUS ON OPIOIDS -
Lawmakers return today to Capitol Hill after a two-week recess, and multiple committees in both the House and Senate are poised to examine the opioid crisis and potential...more
CONGRESS WORKS TO PASS BUDGET BEFORE FRIDAY’S SHUTDOWN DEADLINE -
House leaders are pushing to schedule a vote this week on a $1.3 trillion budget agreement that would give the Senate enough time to pass it before a Friday...more
CONGRESS RECONVENES WITH FOCUS ON OPIOID LEGISLATION - Congress reconvenes today after a weeklong recess, and a House subcommittee is scheduled to begin a series of hearings focusing on bipartisan efforts to combat the opioid...more
TRUMP TO RELEASE FISCAL 2019 BUDGET THIS MORNING -
The White House this morning is releasing President Trump’s fiscal 2019 budget blueprint, which will include funding requests for HHS, FDA, CMS and dozens of other...more
After a tumultuous year on Capitol Hill – with repeated efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and stalled attempts to renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program – President Donald Trump isn’t likely to focus on...more
With the government shutdown entering its third day, the Senate scheduled a procedural vote at noon today that could pave the way to end the stalemate – but it’s not clear there’s enough support to break the logjam and reopen...more
1/23/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Government Shutdown ,
HRSA ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
National Institute of Health (NIH)