Featured in this week’s Update, the Senate votes on September 17, 2018 on opioids legislation (the House is not in session this week); Congress reaches an agreement on fiscal 2019 healthcare funding; the pharma industry last...more
This week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update” includes the latest on Congress reconvening after a summer break and facing near-term deadlines on government funding, including for healthcare agencies and programs; whether...more
President Donald Trump announced today that the United States and Mexico agreed in concept to overhaul portions of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but Congress won’t be able to ratify the deal until next year – under...more
The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin confirmation hearings Sept. 4 on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the hearings will occur over multiple days early...more
President Donald Trump on Monday renewed threats to shut down the government if Congress doesn’t approve billions of dollars for border security, even as Republican leaders on Capitol Hill implored Trump to avoid budget...more
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 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
Ongoing negotiations to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement remain bogged down, but even if U.S., Canadian and Mexican trade ministers strike a deal in the coming weeks, Congress may not be able to approve it this...more
The House voted Tuesday to give final congressional approval to a sweeping rewrite of the nation’s banking rules that would roll back key elements of Dodd-Frank but still leave most of that 2010 law on the books....more
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
Republican lawmakers in the coming weeks hope to begin voting on several spending bills as the first step toward avoiding a politically embarrassing budget crisis before this fall’s midterm elections.
For years, Congress’...more
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
AZAR ILLNESS DELAYS WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCEMENT ON DRUG PRICING INITIATIVE -
Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar is recovering at his home in Indianapolis following his second hospitalization in less than a week...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
Congress is expected this week to approve a fifth stopgap budget bill to keep the government open in advance of a Thursday shutdown deadline, and key healthcare provisions could be included in the budget package.
If...more
President Donald Trump is considering appointing lawmakers to a bipartisan commission that would develop strategies to lower prescription drug prices, while senators last week called for greater transparency into how...more
President Trump’s announcement Friday that he would stop cost-sharing payments to insurance companies triggered a firestorm on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers in both parties calling on Congress to restore the funding...more
The chairman of a Senate healthcare committee outlined a key test for stabilizing the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) shaky individual marketplace: Both Republicans and Democrats will have to give a little.
That formula has...more
Some Republican lawmakers, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), are pushing new plans to overhaul the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but other policy priorities and tight legislative deadlines this month are likely to thwart...more
Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump face a series of key questions about how or whether to fortify the Affordable Care Act – particularly in the law’s beleaguered individual exchanges – after the Senate last...more
8/1/2017
/ 510(k) RTA ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Cybersecurity ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Trump Administration
Senate Republicans face a key procedural vote this week that would allow for debate of their healthcare legislation, but significant uncertainty remains about whether GOP senators can meet that procedural hurdle, what the...more
7/25/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Generic Drugs ,
IPAB ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
REMS ,
Repeal ,
Trump Administration ,
User Fees
Delayed Senate Health Vote Boon to GOP or Just Prolonging the Inevitable?
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s announcement that he would delay a key procedural vote scheduled for this week on the Republicans’...more
Senate Reconvenes but No Health Votes Expected This Week -
The Senate reconvenes today following the Fourth of July recess, but senators are at least a week away – and perhaps even longer – from voting on legislation to...more
Senate Republicans return to Washington this week after a 10-day recess facing a key inflection point in their effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as GOP leaders will outline policy options they hope...more
6/6/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
HRSA ,
Medicaid ,
Repeal ,
Section 340B ,
Trump Administration ,
User Fees
Congress’s official budget scorekeepers this week will release analysis of the House-approved bill repealing most of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and that data will inform Senate Republicans on a path for passing their...more