Below is a broad overview of policies for which President-Elect Biden has indicated support (PDF). It is important to note that, while some of these policies fall under the President's executive power, many will require...more
11/12/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Child Tax Credit ,
Clean Energy ,
Colleges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Debt ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Policy ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
Infrastructure ,
Joe Biden ,
Medicare ,
NAFTA ,
NATO ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Public Health ,
Public Policy ,
Relief Measures ,
Social Security ,
Trump Administration ,
USPS ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
President Trump's fiscal year 2020 (FY20) budget proposal for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reflects the Trump Administration's priorities to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), implement...more
3/18/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Opioid ,
Popular ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B ,
Trump Administration
Health care issues will remain a central focus in Washington throughout 2019. Having gained control of the House following the 2018 mid-term elections, Democrats now have the ability to block President Trump's legislative...more
2/12/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Block Grants ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CMMI ,
Congressional Oversight ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid Expansion ,
Medicare ,
Medicare for All ,
Political Parties ,
Popular ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Repeal ,
Stark Law ,
State Medicaid Programs ,
Trump Administration ,
Waivers
On December 14, Texas U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor issued a broad federal court ruling in Texas v. Azar to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) on the basis that the individual mandate penalty, which Congress...more
The 2018 midterm elections resulted in Democrats regaining the House, Republicans expanding their Senate majority, and both parties positioning themselves for the 2020 presidential election. These factors will have a major...more
On October 10, 2018, Senate Democrats pushed for a largely symbolic vote to overrule the Trump Administration's expansion of short-term health plans that failed to advance in the Senate on a 50-50 tie vote....more
On August 1, 2018, the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule to expand the availability of short-term, limited duration insurance (STLDI or short-term plans). ...more
On Tuesday, July 24, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule intended to clarify the program methodology and reinstate payments under the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) permanent risk adjustment...more
On June 7, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a legal brief in support of a lawsuit from 20 states seeking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act (ACA), urging the federal court considering the case to strike down the ACA's...more
On June 19, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a final rule to expand access to association health plans (AHPs), which allow employers to form groups to collectively purchase health coverage for their employees. ...more
On April 9, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the long-anticipated final Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters (NBPP) for plan year 2019, providing standards for health insurers and the health...more
With ongoing uncertainty and turmoil in the individual health insurance market, Congress has spent weeks debating whether to include a bipartisan Affordable Care Act (ACA) stabilization measure as part of the "must pass"...more
The wide-reaching Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA), passed by Congress and signed by the President on February 9, 2018, extends and modifies dozens of health care programs, including extending funding for two years for...more
2/22/2018
/ ACOs ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D
On February 20, 2018, the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule to expand the availability of Short-Term, Limited Duration Insurance (STLDI). Building on President Trump's...more
Note: All fiscal estimates cited over a ten-year budget window refer to the Fiscal Year 2019-2028 budget window.
The President's fiscal year 2019 (FY19) budget proposal for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)...more
2/20/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Budget ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
HRSA ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Opioid ,
Trump Administration
On February 12, 2018, the White House released the President's Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) budget, outlining a $4.4 trillion federal budget proposal that prioritizes substantially higher spending on the military and on border...more
After a brief federal government shutdown overnight, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 on February 9, 2018. The Senate voted 71-28 and the House voted 240-186 to approve the...more
2/12/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D ,
Opioid
After repeated attempts to repeal failed in 2017, overarching federal reform of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) appears unlikely in 2018. However, ongoing uncertainty and turmoil in the individual insurance market will ensure...more
On December 21, Congress passed a bill to continue funding the government through January 19, 2018, averting a potential government shutdown ahead of the December 22, 2017, deadline for the previous funding measure. The House...more
12/26/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Disaster Aid ,
Federal Budget ,
Government Shutdown ,
Health Insurance ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Hurricane Maria ,
Natural Disasters ,
Puerto Rico ,
Trump Administration ,
Wildfires
After a week of frenzied debate and last minute deal making, the Senate approved a sweeping package of tax cuts by a vote of 51 to 49 with Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) and all Democrats voting in opposition. It remained unclear...more
12/5/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Child Tax Credit ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Estate Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
Individual Mandate ,
Local Taxes ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform
Reauthorization of federal funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has stalled in Congress due to partisan disagreements over fiscal offsets. The delay in the extension of federal funding has put...more
With less than a month remaining before the December 8 deadline for adopting an appropriations deal and the December 15 deadline to lift the debt ceiling, it is increasingly likely that Congress will once again pass a...more
After dominating the agenda for most of 2017, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) seemed to take a backseat at first as Republicans shifted their focus to enacting tax legislation. The initial momentum behind the bipartisan...more
11/20/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Individual Mandate ,
Open Enrollment ,
Repeal ,
Trump Administration
On October 17, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) announced they had agreed on a proposal for a narrow, short-term individual market...more
On October 12, the Trump Administration announced that it would immediately terminate payments for Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSRs), which subsidize health coverage for low-income enrollees in the Affordable Care Act's (ACA)...more