On Thursday, March 19, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act), which contains provisions to provide emergency assistance for individuals, families and...more
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
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
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
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
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
Following defections from Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), John McCain (R-AZ), and Susan Collins (R-ME), Senate Republican leaders announced on September 26 that they did not have the votes for the Graham-Cassidy plan – the last...more
September is traditionally one of the busiest months in Washington, and this year is no exception. While much of the attention is focused on the debt ceiling debate, appropriations and the federal response to Hurricane...more
Over the past few weeks, it looked increasingly possible that Congress might fail to meet an April 28 deadline for adopting a fiscal year 2017 (FY17) appropriations package, potentially leading to a shutdown of the federal...more
Of particular focus in the coming year will be Medicaid, the federal/state health care program for low-income Americans. The program, which cost the federal government $334 billion in FY15, is a frequent target of...more