Congress is back from recess this week, and focus is on the Senate’s consideration of the House-passed reconciliation bill. Much of this work – for example, ensuring that provisions are consistent with the Byrd Rule – will be...more
Short Congressional Recess, Short Preview -
While Congress is in recess this week, we are still on reconciliation watch as consideration of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act moves to the Senate. We are on the lookout for a...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
5/20/2025
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Government Agencies ,
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Healthcare Reform ,
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Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
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Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
Reconciliation Text Is Here -
Late Sunday night, May 11, 2025, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce released the much-anticipated budget reconciliation bill text ahead of its scheduled markup on May 13,...more
5/13/2025
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Drug Pricing ,
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Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
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Trump Administration
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
5/7/2025
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Budget ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
Trump Administration
After a two-week recess, lawmakers are back on Capitol Hill to begin marking up their budget reconciliation legislation. The budget resolution that passed in early April instructs committees to spend or save a certain amount....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
4/8/2025
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Congressional Committees ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
Trump Administration
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
1/7/2025
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Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
Telehealth ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. House
118th Congress Wraps Up -
Congress has five days to complete remaining business before the December 20 government funding deadline. It is still expected that the government will be funded via a short-term continuing...more
The incoming Trump Administration made several decisions and announcements in the first week of the lame duck session, including announcing his nominee for Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)....more
11/19/2024
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Healthcare ,
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Lame Duck Session ,
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Members of Congress ,
Presidential Elections ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Senate Committees ,
Trump Administration
Election Day 2024 has come and gone. Republicans have all but officially achieved a trifecta – control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives.
Both the House and Senate return today for the lame duck...more
11/13/2024
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Donald Trump ,
Election Results ,
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Healthcare Reform ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Members of Congress ,
Presidential Elections ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Senate Committees ,
Trump Administration
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
Congress is back from a long August recess. However, it is only back for a few weeks. During this window, there is only one major thing Congress must do: extend government funding past the September 30 deadline through a...more
9/10/2024
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Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Funding ,
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Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Regulatory Agenda
WILL WE EVER SEE “PRECEDENTED TIMES” AGAIN?
If the last month, if not the last several years, has felt like emotional-political whiplash, it is for good reason. We’ve witnessed the US Supreme Court issue landmark rulings,...more
Congress is back after being on recess for the July 4th holiday. This week brings several healthcare-related hearings, including a Senate Aging Committee hearing on healthcare costs, a Senate HELP Committee hearing on medical...more
Congress Tackles Defense, Reproductive Health in Busy Week Ahead Congress is in session Tuesday through Friday of this week, and it is sure to be a politically charged few days. The House is bringing forth the 2025 National...more
6/11/2024
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NDAA ,
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Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Senate Committees
Congress is in session for three weeks in June and also will be session for three weeks in July before the August recess. This week we continue to see committee activity examining various aspects of the healthcare space....more
Both chambers of Congress are out of session today and return for the rest of the week.
Most healthcare priorities remain out of the congressional spotlight this week, but telehealth is still top of mind. As we...more
5/14/2024
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Final Rules ,
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Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
HELP ,
Laboratory Developed Tests ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
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
4/30/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Final Rules ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Committees ,
U.S. House
CONGRESS AWAY, ADMINISTRATION STILL IN PLAY -
Congress is mostly in recess this week, with the exception of the Senate returning on Tuesday, April 23, to consider the House-passed foreign aid package. Thus there are no...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
At midnight on Friday, funding runs out for the remaining six FY 2024 annual spending bills: State – Foreign Operations, Defense, Homeland Security, Labor – Health and Human Services, Legislative Branch, and Financial...more
3/19/2024
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Regulatory Reform ,
Ways and Means Committee
APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS MOVES FORWARD -
Over the weekend, negotiators in Congress agreed to certain spending allocations in order to fund various government agencies through most of the year. With both bodies in session...more
CONGRESS BUYS MORE TIME -
Last Friday President Biden signed a short-term funding patch. This extends government funding through a continuing resolution (CR) into March. Specifically, this CR gives Congress until March 1...more
PARTIAL SNOW DAY, PARTIAL SHUT DOWN?
Much of the federal government is closed today because of yesterday’s significant (for DC) and unexpected snowfall. However, part of the federal government is set to shut down this...more