Both chambers are recessed to allow for district work and will return to Capitol Hill in September. The Senate returns first on Tuesday, September 6, followed by the House on Tuesday, September 13.
Continue reading “Health Policy Report (8/29)”Month: August 2022
Health Policy Report (8/15)
Congress is set to break for the balance of the month and will return to action in September with a lengthy legislative to-do list. This includes, among other things: (1) government funding and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2023; (2) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fee agreements; and (3) the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), along with several other programs that are set to expire on September 30. Additionally, Democratic lawmakers will be scrambling to finalize other last-minute legislative wins — including permitting reform, tax extenders, retirement savings, water resources development projects, and more — before the conclusion of the 117th Congress.
Continue reading “Health Policy Report (8/15)”Health Policy Report (8/8)
Senate Democrats clinched final passage of their long-sought reconciliation bill over the weekend, sending the measure to the House for a final vote later this week. Democratic leadership reached a breakthrough late last week after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) offered a series of tweaks to tax and climate policies within the underlying bill to appease some concerns from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who was the last remaining holdout on the Inflation Reduction Act. Additionally, the Senate Parliamentarian’s “Byrd bath” rulings — along with the marathon “vote-a-rama” amendment process — resulted in a pair of key changes to the drug pricing policies within the filibuster-proof measure, including: (1) the removal of a provision that would have required drug companies to provide rebates if the cost of their products sold to private insurers exceed inflation; and (2) nixing a proposed price cap for insulin in the private marketplace.
Continue reading “Health Policy Report (8/8)”Health Policy Report (8/1)
The Senate will return to action on Monday as Democrats prepare to act on their newly-released Inflation Reduction Act. Text of the reconciliation bill, which includes an array of health, tax, clean energy, and climate policies, is currently being reviewed by the Senate Parliamentarian — a process that could result in additional changes to the legislation if its provisions run afoul of the chamber’s arcane budgetary rules.
Continue reading “Health Policy Report (8/1)”