In an article for Inside Health Policy, TRP Senior Vice President Shea McCarthy shared his insight on the heated debate over the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) fiscal year (FY) 2021 physician fee schedule (PFS). With payment reductions of up to 11 percent imminent as a result of the proposed FY 2021 PFS, McCarthy pointed out that Congress may start to take the option of waiving the budget neutrality requirements underpinning the E/M pay bumps seriously. “Between reductions in patient volume and a hiatus on elective procedures, COVID-19 is already putting a massive strain on America’s healthcare system — and lawmakers are increasingly recognizing that many providers will struggle to keep their doors open if these drastic cuts are implemented,” said McCarthy.  

In today’s Washington Post “The Finance 202” newsletter — a top financial services beat in Washington, D.C. — TRP’s Jason Rosenstock offered his commentary on the shifting political dynamics within the Democratic party, as well as the impact this could have on the financial services industry moving forward. Following progressive activist Cori Bush’s defeat of 10-term Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO), a member of the House financial Services Committee, Rosenstock points out that stakeholders are working to game out both the implications of different election outcomes as well as the effect that the “newly assertive left” could have on the overall direction of the Democrats’ policy priorities. “The financial services industry is perpetually going to be attacked by the far left,” said Rosenstock. “The question is, ‘How far does that bleed into the general ethos of the Democratic Party?’”

In an article for Modern Healthcare, TRP Senior Vice President Shea McCarthy shared his insight on the current state of the push for action on surprise billing as the negotiations on the next COVID-19 relief package continue. The article highlighted a recent report from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that argues Congress should act on surprise bills, as the COVID-19 and transparency-related measures the administration has pushed are not sufficient. In discussing this report, McCarthy astutely pointed out that by not favoring a specific legislative proposal, the Trump administration is essentially not supporting any of the three main approaches that have emerged in Congress thus far. “Instead, the latest report from HHS has simply added more confusion to the debate on how to address this politically sensitive issue,” said McCarthy.

In the May 12 edition of the POLITICO Influence — a leading government relations beat in Washington, D.C. — TRP’s newest memo outlining the next few months of Congressional activity in the era of COVID-19 was highlighted as the lead story. The memo contains a short- and long-term outlook for activity on Capitol Hill during the pandemic, including additional pandemic response legislation, fiscal year (FY) 2020 appropriations, and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), among other things. You can read this memo in its entirety here.

Thorn Run Partners is proud to have been listed as a “top firm” for the first quarter of 2020 by POLITICO Influence — the leading government affairs beat in Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 2010, TRP has consistently ranked among Washington’s fastest growing lobbying firms according to analysis from Politico, The Hill, Bloomberg Government, and others. In the writeup of this announcement, TRP’s Andy Rosenberg was cited for his perspective on the current landscape for lobbying activity in the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. “The current rush of lobbying activity will probably be followed by some degree of economic downturn, and that’s never good for anyone’s business,” said Rosenberg. “However, the fact that every public and private entity now realizes the importance of the federal government to their economic future should cut the other way for the better government affairs firms.”

In today’s POLITICO “Morning Money” newsletter — a leading financial services beat in Washington, D.C. — TRP’s Jason Rosenstock provided an overview on the current state of play for the timing of Congressional action to replenish the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Rosenstock noted that as of this past Saturday, SBA has approved 725,000 loans totaling more than $189 billion. He also citing the increased urgency for Congress to address additional funding for the program as the applications continue to pour in.  “Increasing the pool of eligible lenders via the inclusion of fintech and other non-bank lenders last week may accelerate the PPPs burn rate,” said Rosenstock. “However, it is unclear whether it will do so at a speed that forces Congressional Democrats and Republicans to finalize a deal this week.”

On Friday, Mar. 27, TRP Co-founder Andy Rosenberg participated in an Alliance for Health Policy webinar on the legislative and regulatory efforts to address the COVID-19 outbreak. Rosenberg provided the audience with a high-level overview of the legislative activity in Congress to stem the impact of the outbreak. He also forecasted future actions that lawmakers could take to address existing and emerging COVID-19 issues.”If there’s one thing we’ve seen so far, it’s that this trajectory has just been faster and more dire than we’ve expected,” said Rosenberg. “So even though Congress expects to be out of town until April 20, we imagine that when they return at the end of April, there will probably be some urgent needs in industries and sectors that we can’t even predict right now that they’ll have to get to work on.”

In today’s Washington Post “Finance 202” newsletter — a leading beat for financial services news in Washington, D.C. — TRP’s Jason Rosenstock offered commentary on what Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s departure from the 2020 presidential race means for financial regulations moving forward. While the piece notes that industry leaders don’t believe former Vice President Joe Biden would bring the type of regulatory change that Sen. Warren promised in her campaign, Rosenstock astutely pointed out that the leftward shift of the Democratic party could indicate that the some of the Massachusetts Senator’s ideas for financial regulation could come to fruition. “Warren may ultimately win the ideas primary,” said Rosenstock.  “And a lot of the stuff she’s proposed may find its way into platform.”

In an article for The Hill, TRP Partner Jason Rosenstock provided commentary on former New York City Mayor and 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg’s proposed financial reform plan. While the article notes that Bloomberg’s proposal puts him within the mainstream Democratic party, Rosenstock points out that Wall Street may find elements of the plan troubling as he positions himself to make inroads with the party’s left flank. “It’s indicative of how far the Democratic primary voters have shifted to the left when this proposal is sort of seen as a center-left proposal,” said Rosenstock.