Summary
Please find here WHG’s Legislative and Regulatory Outlook for 2020, based largely on changes reflected in the administration’s Fall 2019 regulatory agenda. As in previous releases of our annual outlook, we aim to provide a comprehensive line-up of key federal health care policy developments we expect to see throughout the course of the coming year and their approximate timing.
Of note, many key high-ticket items expected last year did not ultimately transpire, though were assigned an expected date of either November of December of 2019. You’ll find such items – of which there are many – with a designated expected timeframe of Q1, reflecting our expectation that the administration may move forward on any of these issues in the first few months of 2020. These include, of note, the highly anticipated proposed rule for an International Pricing Index Model, an upcoming request for information on Medicaid-covered transportation benefits, and the companion CMS and ONC final rules on interoperability.
Additional measures with potential action in 2020 reflect the administration’s attitudes towards a broader set of issues aligned with health, but that are not health care-specific. For example, the administration has several planned changes to nutrition programs for low-income adults and children, and also intends to propose regulations that would allow for deportation on the basis of a public charge designation.
On the legislative front, we also provide dates for each congressional recess of the year, the President’s State of the Union, and the end of the Federal Fiscal Year. We also note the timeframe for the looming impeachment trial of President Trump and election day. Last, you will find dates for both the expiration of the “health extenders” and when DSH payment reductions are set to go into effect, which will likely impose de facto congressional deadlines to act on major health care priorities.