Health Care

This week, Congress returns to Washington with 11 days to finalize a government spending bill. Standing in the way are a number of unresolved health care issues, including drug pricing and market stabilization.

Congress has three weeks to finalize an omnibus spending package. There are a number of issues that are expected to come up, including market stabilization and drug pricing, among other issues. There's also activity at the state level on Medicaid waivers and work requirements. We cover this and more in this week's preview.

Congress is back in session and will begin its work in finalizing a final spending bill for fiscal year 2018. Both chambers are considering new ways to address the opioid crisis, and we should expect a renewed push around gun control and mental health.

This week, the President's FY 2019 budget will be released, and the Administration will spend the next couple of weeks touting its goals. How this activity is received in Congress will play out in various committee hearings, as will issues like drug pricing, which the Administration is closely examining.

Today, the White House released its FY 2019 budget proposal, outlining its policy priorities for the fiscal year. In health care, the President's budget focuses on prescription drug pricing and opioid funding.

Based on the most up-to-date information on the budget deal, we have developed a new timeline for the major health care extenders. This new timeline is important because these provisions were once all tied together and now, they are not.

Late Monday night (February 5, 2018), the House of Representatives released a continuing resolution to keep the government funded and running until March 23, 2018. This CR includes many health care related provisions, specifically many of the health care “minibus” riders. In the chart below we summarize major health care provisions in this CR specific to the health care minibus.

This week, Congress needs to pass a government funding bill by Thursday. Will we get a final budget deal or another continuing resolution? There are still several important health care programs that need to be addressed as well as health care initiatives that have bipartisan support and could find their way into a deal.

On Wednesday, January 24, 2018, Governor Charlie Baker released a $40.9 billion budget proposal for FY2019. The plan, commonly referred to as House 2, is the fourth Baker has proposed since assuming office and increases spending by 2.6% over FY2018 levels.

This week, President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. Following his speech, both parties will leave town for party retreats where they will discuss priorities for the year ahead.

The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) voted in late December to approve draft regulations establishing the framework for the recreational marijuana industry of Massachusetts.

Congress has four days to fund the government. The emerging spending deal could include any number of legislative priorities. We will wait and see for signs that a spending deal is close before we start envisioning what a short-term continuing resolution might look like.

This week, Congress returns to D.C. with 11 days to pass a government funding bill that may touch on issues such as CHIP, the minibus, DACA, and disaster relief. How this all comes together by January 19th will start to play out this week.

2017 was an eventful year for health care, and now we can all sit back and relax with very little concern that major health policy will be on the table in 2018. Right? Not so fast. Talks of entitlement reform, upcoming regulatory action in Medicare, Medicaid, FDA and the Marketplace, and let's not forget the still lingering health care minibus. Lots to do in 2018 and we are just getting started.

Happy New Year and welcome to 2018! Our first weekly preview of the year dives into the issues left unresolved in 2017. Where does CHIP and the minibus fit into the developing government funding bill, which Congress will have to finalize or pass another continuing resolution by January 19th.

Republicans enter this week on target to pass a sweeping tax reform package after securing support from Senators Corker (TN) and Rubio (FL). Additionally Susan Collins (ME) applauded the “inclusion of multiple amendments,” but stopped short of publicly supporting the measure.

This week, Republicans will ramp up efforts to pass a tax reform package. We should also get signs that a year-end spending deal is coming together. How things play out this week -- both inside and outside the Beltway -- will have implications for taxes, health care, and funding the government.

Following weekend passage of the Senate tax bill, we return this week with Congress needing to pass a government-spending bill. While it’s widely expected that this will be a two-week continuing resolution (CR), giving lawmakers time to hash out a long-term deal, a short-term extension still requires Democratic votes since spending measures can be filibustered (e.g., October 2013).

Congress has its work cut out for itself between now and the end of the year. Between addressing the programs that constitute the Health Care Minibus, funding the government, and tax reform, there are also questions related to a market stabilization package (Alexander-Murray), the 340B program, the opioid epidemic, and another hurricane relief package.