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
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
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
THIS WEEK’S DOSE - - House Committees Begin Reconciliation Markups. Non-health-related committees moved forward this week, with the House Energy and Commerce Committee tentatively scheduled to mark up its legislative text in...more
Reconciliation Watch - Reports indicate that the Senate will move as soon as Wednesday to begin advancing a unified budget plan. The Senate hopes to be able to advance the budget resolution by having the two chambers...more
As we near the end of the 118th Congress and head into a lame duck session postelection, policymakers are eyeing opportunities to reauthorize health programs that expire in December and also pass larger health reforms before...more
One More Week Until Election Recess - The House and Senate are in Washington, DC, for one more week before leaving until after election day. Over the weekend, congressional leaders struck a deal on a continuing resolution...more
Senate Staying Busy The House has started its August recess, so members are out until September 9, 2024. The Senate is in session, before joining the House in recess next week. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor...more
House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Value-Based Care. The hearing examined the challenges and opportunities associated with delivering better health outcomes and Medicare savings through value-based care....more
Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on Disability Benefits. The hearing discussed ways to improve work incentives for those on Social Security disability programs. Senators and witnesses noted that there are currently...more
House Energy & Commerce Committee Advances 13 Health Bills. The bipartisan legislation dealt with public health, Medicaid fraud and some small telehealth bills, but not the Medicare extension legislation that the committee is...more
House Oversight Subcommittee Hearing with Fauci. The hearing aimed to gather more information on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic by Anthony Fauci, MD, former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases...more
House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Advances 21 Bills. The markup included legislation around telehealth, Medicaid, workforce and rare diseases. Of note, the subcommittee advanced a bill that included an extension of...more
House Ways & Means Committee Marks Up Telehealth and More. The bills considered in the markup support expanding access to telehealth as well as access to healthcare in rural areas. All six bills passed out of the committee,...more
A Quiet Healthcare Week on Capitol Hill. Congress was largely in recess this week, although the Senate returned briefly to complete consideration of a long-awaited foreign aid bill. Both chambers will return to session the...more
House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Cybersecurity. During the hearing, there was bipartisan concern about UnitedHealth Group’s response to the Change Healthcare cyberattack and consensus around the...more
Appropriations Update. On March 3, Congress released bill text for the CAA, 2024, which includes funding for six of the 12 appropriations bills: Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA, Energy-Water, Transportation-HUD,...more
The U.S. is experiencing a maternal health crisis: it has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income nations; increasing rates of complications from pregnancy or childbirth; and persistent disparities in...more
IT’S SHUTDOWN WEEK . . . AGAIN - Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Congress returns to session this week, with precious little time to avert a looming partial government shutdown at midnight on Friday. After...more
Senate HELP Committee Releases HIPAA Modernization White Paper: Sen. Cassidy (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a white paper entitled “Strengthening Health...more
House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Holds Legislative Hearing on 19 Bills. Lawmakers discussed 19 pieces of legislation designed to support patients and caregivers in the key areas of autism, heart defects,...more
Senate Finance Chair Continues Inquiry into MA Marketing Techniques. Chairman Wyden (D-OR) sent letters to five third-party marketing organizations that participate in the MA enrollment period. The letters seek information on...more
House Passes Healthcare Legislation. The House brought two key bipartisan healthcare bills to the floor this week. The Lower Costs, More Transparency Act (H.R. 5378) was approved by a vote of 320–71, and the Support for...more
CONGRESS - House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Examines AI. The hearing explored the transformative potential of AI in healthcare, acknowledging its promise in enhancing efficiency, improving patient care and...more
CONGRESS - House Republicans Elect New Speaker. After weeks of turmoil, the House elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the new Speaker of the House on Wednesday with 220 votes secured on the floor. The House is now able to...more