Summary
Congress returns this week to a busy three-week work period leading up to the August recess. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released a letter over the weekend outlining an ambitious agenda for July, including FY 2024 appropriations, NDAA Reauthorization, and a host of bipartisan proposals including bills that would “lower the cost of insulin and prescription drugs, combat the fentanyl crisis, unlock permitting reform, advance online safety and innovation, promote community health, hold bank executives accountable, address rail safety, modernize federal aviation programs, institute common-sense farm policy, safeguard cannabis banking, compete with the Chinese government, and more.”
On the House side, the NDAA bill heads to the floor this week, though it will quickly run into challenges with the nearly 1,400 amendments that have already been filed and the leadership’s attempts to include policy provisions restricting service member’s access to abortion and gender affirming care.
This week the Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to mark up their Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) reauthorization bill, though a date has not been officially posted. The House version maintains current funding levels for PAHPA programs. Republicans remain opposed to Democrats’ push for proposals in the PAHPA reauthorization package to address drug and device supply chain vulnerabilities. The Senate is also expected to mark up a PAHPA reauthorization bill this month. On Monday the Senate HELP Committee unveiled a bipartisan discussion draft (press release).
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees are also expected to resume activity on marking up fiscal year 2024 bills. Both Committees passed their top line spending levels and Subcommittee allocations before the break. What was supposed to be an easy appropriations process following the debt limit deal has become anything but with the House and Senate top line amounts $119 billion apart. While both chambers will cut Labor-HHS spending from FY 23, the Senate will cut 6%, while the House will cut 29%. This sets up a very messy fall.
Hearings
Senate HELP Committee: On Tuesday the Senate HELP Committee Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security will have a hearing titled Superbugs: The Impact of Antimicrobial Resistance on Modern Medicine.
Regulatory Update
In case you missed it, we wanted to make sure that you have Impact Health’s Regulatory Outlook. We highlight federal regulatory actions by the following policy areas:
- Coverage and Payment: Medicaid, Medicare, Private Insurance
- Cross-Cutting Topics: Behavioral Health, Drug Pricing, Health IT and Digital Health, Mergers, and Nondiscrimination Protections
- Public Health and Safety: Food and Drug Administration and Public Health
- Social Drivers of Health: Housing, Nutrition, and Social Services
We may soon see proposed updates to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers for calendar year 2024, which have cleared review at OMB. So far, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)has released proposed rules for home health agencies (client summary) and end-stage renal disease facilities (client summary). Several fiscal year 2024 Medicare payment final rules arrived at OMB last week for review, including updates for skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and hospice. Final action is not expected until November.
Additionally, OMB is reviewing the following:
- Minimum staffing standards for long-term care facilities – Proposed rule would address staffing requirements at long-term care facilities, including nursing homes.
- Medicaid and CHIP – Final rule intended to streamline the eligibility and enrollment process for Medicaid and CHIP