Lonnie G. Bunch III is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and the former Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. No stranger to the Smithsonian, having spent a...more
Remaining Congressional Session - There is very little time left in this Congressional session, and both the House and Senate are expected to depart in October to go home to campaign. The exact timing is unclear and the plans...more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided $150 billion to the Department of Treasury to be issued to states and local governments through the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), also referred to as...more
On June 9, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced additional payments under the COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund to reimburse providers for health care related expenses and revenue losses attributable...more
On May 1, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced additional payments under the COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund to reimburse providers for health care related expenses and revenue losses attributable...more
5/15/2020
/ Attestation Requirements ,
CARES Act ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Eligibility ,
Funding Portal ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
MACPAC ,
Overpayment ,
Provider Relief Fund ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rural Health Care Providers
On April 23, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, which previously passed the Senate on April 21, 2020, and is expected to be signed into law by the...more
4/26/2020
/ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Community Health Systems ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dentists ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Funding ,
Health Care Providers ,
Indian Health Service (IHS) ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Research ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
Small Business Loans ,
Uninsured Patients ,
Virus Testing
On April 2, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission released a Report and Order establishing the COVID-19 Telehealth Program (Program). The Program will provide $200 million in funding made available as part of the CARES...more
Health care providers are beginning to receive payments from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address expenses and revenue losses related to coronavirus (COVID-19). On April 10, 2020, HHS announced the...more
Both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have now passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the President is expected to sign the bill into law shortly. The CARES Act appropriates...more
3/27/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Funding ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Research ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
SAMHSA ,
Substance Abuse
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
As we have noted in prior Alerts, Congress has passed several pieces of legislation designed to provide important relief around various aspects of the coronavirus health crisis in the past two weeks. ...more
Introduction - On March 14, 2020, the House passed H.R. 6201, known as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. An issue arose regarding a needed "technical amendment" that required further action by the House. That work...more
On Monday, March 9, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) released information on permissible flexibilities and obligations that are in effect during a disaster and emergency resulting from COVID-19....more
3/13/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Response ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Billing Privileges ,
Medicare Part D ,
Natural Disasters ,
New Guidance ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drug Coverage ,
Provider Payments ,
State of Emergency ,
Waivers
The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act was signed by the President on March 6 and provides $8.3 billion in multi-year funds to combat the growing public health threat. ...more
The Administration has proposed a $4.8 trillion budget for FY21. While increasing funding for defense, the budget seeks a six percent cut in non-defense spending, breaking from a bipartisan spending agreement agreed to in...more
Over the last few weeks, President Trump and lawmakers in both the House and Senate have taken several steps to protect patients from surprise medical bills, the latest signs of bipartisan momentum to address the issue this...more
5/29/2019
/ Bipartisan Agreement ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Expenses ,
Medicare ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Patient Rights ,
Physicians ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Trump Administration
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
Lawmakers have moved quickly to consider and pass a number of significant bills as part of the year-end wrap up.
On December 12, the House passed a conference agreement on the Farm Bill, which extends major federal farm,...more
With Democrats taking control of the House in the midterm elections, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will likely become Speaker of the House. Minority Leader Pelosi secured the party nomination for Speaker in a...more
Lawmakers are aiming to enact a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) until February 8 for the seven remaining appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2019 (FY) to avoid a partial government shutdown scheduled to occur Friday,...more
On November 30, President Trump, along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, signed a revised trade agreement to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)...more
The latest 2018 midterm results indicate that Democrats have picked up at least 40 net seats to gain control of the House, while Republicans picked up two net seats to expand their Senate majority. Democrats also won seven...more
On the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, President Trump and President Xi Jinping of China agreed to effectively pause their trade war and work toward a pact....more