Summary
With Congress in recess this week, we provide a status update on various health-related legislative priorities – including, drug pricing, ACA premium subsidies, mental health, COVID-19, public health, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fees, and government funding. Overall, lawmakers have made some progress – most notably, passing gun safety reform and providing youth mental health resources in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (P.L. 117-159). Still, Congress has a lot to do before the summer recess. The House adjourns on August 1, and the Senate adjourns a week later.
In the wake of several landmark Supreme Court rulings, lawmakers are also operating in a more politically charged environment that has further raised the stakes for the upcoming midterm elections, and therefore could influence policymaking in the near term. The decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a nearly 50-year precedent establishing a constitutional right to abortion, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization could have further ramifications for access to contraception and same-sex marriage. Additionally, the Supreme Court curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate carbon emissions in West Virginia v. EPA. This decision could set the stage for further limitations on the regulatory power of other agencies, such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.