Insight Entries

WHG - Weekly, December 9, 2024

Congress is in session this week as the mad dash towards the end of the year continues. Last week a lame duck health care package emerged as the Republicans presented an opening proposal to begin negotiations. The Democrats countered, and a package is taking shape that will likely include expiring telehealth provisions; funding for community health centers and the public... Read More

WHG - Weekly, December 2, 2024

Welcome back! We hope everyone enjoyed a restful and happy Thanksgiving! Congress is scheduled to return this week with a long list of “to-dos” in a frantic three-week session. As we have been discussing there are several issues that Congress must deal with over the next few weeks before recessing for the holidays and the end of the year. First... Read More

WHG - Medicaid Risks & Opportunities in the Incoming Administration + Policy Pathways for Enacting Them

Medicaid is a top policy area in which we could see changes during the incoming Administration and Congress. Linked here, please find a set of tables outlining potential threats to Medicaid, a handful of opportunities, and the policy processes through which Congress or the Administration could pursue such changes. As an overview, Medicaid currently provides health coverage to more than 72 million Americans. Medicaid policy... Read More

WHG - Weekly, November 18, 2024

Congress is in session this week before recessing at the end of the week for the Thanksgiving holiday. The House is scheduled to vote on a number of suspension bills on Monday while the Senate will be occupied with confirmations. We expect the Administration to finally send up an official disaster aid request to refill the coffers of the Small... Read More

WHG - Weekly, November 11, 2024

Congress returns to Washington this week after a six-week recess. Following last week’s election, the Republicans are poised to have a “trifecta” and be in control of the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, though the margins by which they hold control of the House and Senate are still not finalized. As Impact Health Policy Partners continues... Read More

WHG - Updated: 2024 Election Outlook and 2025 Congressional Preview

In an era of political division, the upcoming November elections have high stakes, and the outcome is impossible to predict. The polls have consistently shown Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump to be running dead even with expectations that a handful of states, or even one congressional district in Nebraska, will determine the winner. Beyond the presidential... Read More

WHG - Weekly, November 4, 2024

Happy Election Eve! After one of the longest, most expensive and least predictable election cycles in modern history, we are just hours away from election day. This election cycle has been full of surprises and unprecedented actions. In the past several months we have seen a switch in the Democratic nominee, two assassination attempts on the Republican nominee, and some... Read More

WHG - Weekly, October 28, 2024

As the November election approaches, presidential candidates are announcing more details about their respective health care agendas. In today’s issue, we highlight proposals recently released by the Harris-Walz campaign on new Medicare benefits and rural health. Since the Trump-Vance campaign has not released comparable proposals, we draw from Project 2025, and the Trump Administration’s previous actions on potential policies that... Read More

WHG - Weekly, October 21, 2024

Congress is in recess until after the elections on November 12, but there are increasing calls for them to return early and pass emergency funding to cover the disasters caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. In recent weeks President Joe Biden has called on lawmakers to return to Capitol Hill... Read More

WHG - Weekly, October 15, 2024

The House and Senate are both in recess in order to focus on campaigning for the upcoming election, leaving a very quiet Capitol Hill. There are just three more weeks left until the November 5 election, and there is still no clear front winner in the race for President. Vice President Harris will sit down with radio host Charlemagne tha... Read More

WHG - Insights for Impact: The 340B Drug Pricing Program

The 340B Drug Pricing Program is intended to help safety-net providers “stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services” by requiring drug manufacturers that participate in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program to provide discounts on outpatient drugs purchased by eligible health care organizations. These covered entities (CEs) include federally qualified health centers, critical access hospitals,... Read More

WHG - Weekly, October 7, 2024

The House and Senate have both recessed until after the November elections, though the Supreme Court starts a new term today. The Court is still weighing what cases they will take up over the 8-month term. One case not on the docket, but that could have the most important repercussions, is if the Supreme Court decides to weigh into the... Read More

WHG - Weekly, September 30, 2024

The House and Senate have both recessed until after the November elections. Prior to adjourning, both bodies of Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) until Friday, December 20, 2024. While this avoids a government shut down before the election, it leaves a lot of big decisions to be made in final weeks of the year. Besides the fiscal fight, Congress... Read More

WHG - Weekly, September 23, 2024

The House and Senate are both in session and working to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government in operation past September 30. Last week after the House Republican leadership tried and failed to pass a six-month CR along with Trump-backed legislation that would require proof of citizenship to vote, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) began to negotiate with... Read More

WHG - Weekly, September 16, 2024

Congress is in session again this week after the House failed to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) last week to keep the government in operation past September 30. The failed Republican proposal was a 6-month CR, that would have carried the government into March 2025. The bill also included the SAVE Act, legislation that would require proof of citizenship to... Read More

WHG - Preview of Lame Duck Health Package

In addition to extending government funding, Congress must act to extend several expiring health care provisions before the end of the year. It is possible they will consider a broader bipartisan health package during that lame duck session (after November election and before the beginning of the new Congress in January). Legislative action at the end of the year will... Read More

WHG - Weekly, September 9, 2024

Welcome back Congress! The House and Senate both come back into session this week after a 5+ week summer recess. Both sides of the Capitol are scheduled to be in session for only 3 weeks before they recess again to focus on the upcoming elections. The primary goal in this work period will be to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR)... Read More

WHG - August Recess: APTCs and Medicaid Program Integrity

The House and Senate both return next Monday, September 9. During this Congressional break, we are taking the opportunity to provide in-depth analysis of policies under consideration for a potential lame duck package, which will culminate with the release of the Impact Health Policy Partners Lame Duck memo next week and an Election Preview memo in early October. This week,... Read More

WHG - August Recess: Public Health Extenders, DSH Cuts, and AI Legislation

The House and Senate are both in recess until after Labor Day. During this Congressional break, we are taking the opportunity to provide in-depth analysis of policies under consideration for a potential lame duck package, which will culminate with the release of the Impact Health Policy Partners Lame Duck and Election Preview memo in September. This week, we focus on key... Read More