Insight Entries – Page 11

WHG - Key Federal Public Option Bills in 117th Congress; Side-by-Side Comparison

The President’s budget for fiscal year (FY) 2022 reiterates the Biden Administration’s plans for “creating a public option that would be available through the ACA [Affordable Care Act] marketplaces” but does not include specific policies to advance the reform – a central pillar to Biden’s presidential campaign. Absent action or direction from the Administration, Congressional Democratic health leaders are forging... Read More

WHG - Weekly, June 1-4

President Joe Biden will meet with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) on Wednesday, June 3, to continue their negotiations over an elusive infrastructure package. While the Biden Administration is encouraged by Senate Republicans’ latest infrastructure proposal, the window for reaching a deal appears to be closing. Over the weekend, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that “clear direction” on how to... Read More

WHG - Weekly, May 24-28

With the Biden Administration’s soft deadline of having a compromise on infrastructure solidified by Memorial Day, this could be the last week of consequential negotiations before the White House shifts to the Democrat-only budget reconciliation track. The White House and Senate Republicans remain far apart on fundamental issues – price tag, scope, and most crucially, pay-fors. Senate Republicans most recently... Read More

WHG - Weekly, May 17-21

Infrastructure Negotiations over the infrastructure package continue to intensify this week as President Joe Biden seeks a bipartisan deal, ideally by the end of the month. While Biden and Republican lawmakers expressed optimism after their meeting last week, they remain far apart on fundamental issues – price tag, scope, and most crucially, pay-fors. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)... Read More

WHG - Overview of Recent Developments on Federal Telehealth Policy

As federal policymakers continue to discuss the future of telehealth post-pandemic, a number of bills have been introduced and re-introduced on ways to expand access to telehealth under Medicare. To support a fuller understanding of these developments, WHG has collated a list of the key telehealth bills that have been introduced during the current legislative session with some additional commentary... Read More

WHG - Weekly, May 10-14

Infrastructure The White House is ramping up its push for a bipartisan deal on infrastructure. President Joe Biden will meet with Democratic and Republican leadership from the House and Senate on Wednesday and top Republican committee leaders on Thursday. These meetings are expected to focus on the scope and price tag of Biden’s broader infrastructure package (American Jobs Plan and... Read More

WHG - Weekly, May 3-7

Prescription Drug Pricing and Health Care Reforms Following President Joe Biden’s call for prescription drug price negotiation this year in his address to Congress, key Democratic lawmakers are pushing to add the proposal to the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan. While Democrats likely have the votes to pass the drug pricing measure in the House, they potentially face an uphill... Read More

WHG - April 2021 Edition: Catalogue of Health Agency Guidance and Government Response to COVID-19

In response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. government agencies have continued the frequent release of fact sheets and guidance documents for health care and public stakeholders. To help navigate the outpouring of information, the Wynne Health Group has maintained the attached and newly updated catalogue, intended to capture and organize the full array of relevant guidance for health... Read More

WHG - Roundup of Key CMMI Developments

As the Biden-Harris Administration continues to establish its health care priorities, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) is again emerging as a key part of how the Administration will advance its agenda. First, as a brief recap, CMMI has announced a number of delays, review periods, and other changes to ongoing and upcoming demonstration models since the new... Read More

WHG - Weekly, April 26-30

Infrastructure President Joe Biden is slated to unveil the American Families Plan, “the human infrastructure” component of his broader infrastructure plan, in his first address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday (April 28). The American Families Plan is expected to focus on child care, paid family leave, and education. With questions remaining on whether health care and prescription... Read More

WHG - Chart of the Major Drug Pricing Proposals in the 117th Congress

Following the reintroduction of H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, H.R. 19, the Lower Costs, More Cures Act, and several other bills featuring drug pricing provisions, the Wynne Health Group has developed a chart (attached) that examines the major proposals currently being considered in the 117th Congress. Specifically, the chart compares the legislative proposals across... Read More

WHG - Weekly, April 19-23

Infrastructure The White House continues to push for a bipartisan deal on infrastructure. To gain Republican support, however, such a modified approach would likely represent a dramatic departure from President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion American Jobs Plan to such a degree that he would risk losing the support of congressional Democrats. A group of Republicans are preparing a counterproposal focused... Read More

WHG - Weekly, April 12-16

With Congress back in session after a two-week recess, negotiations over the multi-trillion American Jobs Plan (i.e., traditional infrastructure) will intensify over the coming six weeks. Today, likely as part of President Joe Biden’s push for bipartisanship, the White House released individual fact sheets that highlight the infrastructure needs of each state and the national investments proposed in the plan... Read More

WHG - Weekly, April 5-9

Infrastructure Democrats continue to be focused on advancing their American Rescue Plan, specifically gearing up to advance President Joe Biden’s roughly $2 trillion American Jobs Plan. This effort proceeds on the heels of the latest jobs report, which showed the U.S. economy added 916,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate dropped to 6.0 percent (compared to the pre-pandemic level... Read More

WHG - Summary of Recent Federal Actions on Maternal Health & Gender Equity

This memorandum collates and summarizes key federal activity on maternal health and gender equity thus far in 2021. Section II first examines prominent legislative activity on these fronts, including important statutory changes that authorize state Medicaid programs to extend postpartum coverage to a full year. The section also includes other prominent legislative proposals to improve maternal health, as well as... Read More

WHG - March 2021 Edition: Catalogue of Health Agency Guidance and Government Response to COVID-19

WHG - Weekly, March 29-April 2

Infrastructure President Joe Biden is slated to lay out the first part of his $3 trillion “Build Back Better” economic recovery plan, focusing on rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, on Wednesday (March 30). The second part of Biden’s plan will focus on health care and child care reforms and will be released in the coming weeks, according to White House press... Read More

WHG - Weekly, March 15-19

This week, the House is preparing to consider H.R. 1868, a legislative fix introduced by House Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth (D-KY) to stop automatic cuts to Medicare and other programs subject to PAYGO sequestration. The increase in deficit spending from the recently enacted $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2) will trigger Pay-As-You-Go cuts, including roughly... Read More

WHG - Weekly, March 8-12

Wrapping up the first major legislative initiative of the Biden-Harris Administration and Democrat-controlled Congress, the House is expected to pass the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, amended and approved by the Senate along party lines over the weekend, tomorrow (March 9) ahead of the March 14 expiration of federal unemployment benefits. With respect to the health-related provisions,... Read More

WHG - Summary of Biden-Harris Executive Actions Related to Health Equity & Racial Justice

President Biden has signed a range of executive actions related to health equity and racial justice since he took office on January 21, 2021. Attached you will find a chart summarizing these actions as they related to racial equity, health coverage, housing, sex discrimination, public health, the COVID-19 response, education, economic relief, the census, tribal sovereignty, criminal justice reform, and... Read More