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Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review

The second session of the 115th Congress got off to a slow start as the House elected to take the week off and the Senate’s work was hampered by severe weather along the Atlantic Coast. The week’s most significant legislative development saw the swearing in of two new Democratic senators, Tina Smith (D-MN) and Doug Jones (D-AL). Sen. Smith, formerly the lieutenant governor of Minnesota, was selected by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton to replace Al Franken and is expected to run in the special election for Franken’s permanent replacement this fall. Sen. Jones takes the normally Republican-held seat in Alabama after winning the state’s special election in December, narrowing the Republican advantage in the Senate to 51-49.

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TRP’s Shea McCarthy Discusses Political Dynamics of Healthcare Reform in 2018

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In an Inside Health Policy article published yesterday, Thorn Run Partners Senior Vice President Shea McCarthy discussed the next steps for Republicans in Congress on healthcare reform, as well as the politics of Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacements in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections.  “With health care promising to be a top issue for voters again in 2018, Republicans in Congress are prone to tread lightly on anything that could potentially alienate their base,” said McCarthy. McCarthy said that this dynamic is likely to translate to more rhetoric over "repeal and replace" and the shortcomings of ACA, as well as a focus on Graham-Cassidy as a primary ACA replacement plan. "While some in the GOP will suggest that repeal of the individual mandate will necessitate market stabilization reforms this year, many more see it as an incremental step towards Graham-Cassidy,” said McCarthy. 

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Politico Influence: Thorn Run Teams up with Rockingstone Group

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In today's Politico Influence newsletter — the leading government relations beat in Washington D.C. —  Thorn Run Partners was cited following the announcement of its strategic partnership with Rockingstone Group.  “Partnering with Rockingstone offers Thorn Run’s clients access to an even deeper level of health policy expertise than ever before," said TRP's Andy Rosenberg.  "It allows us to better serve our clients by providing them a seamless means of pairing our advocacy expertise with sophisticated research and in-depth policy projects." 

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Thorn Run Partners and Rockingstone Group Announce New Strategic Partnership

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Thorn Run Partners (TRP) (thornrun.com) and the Rockingstone Group (rockingstonegroup.com) today announced the formation of a strategic alliance to link their leading health care policy and tactical capabilities. The two firms will share intelligence, collaborate on policy analysis, and jointly serve on new client projects.

Founded in 2010, Thorn Run Partners features one of Washington’s leading health care lobbying, communications, and policy practices, and proudly represents some of the nation’s leading companies, trade associations, and nonprofits. Rockingstone provides industry and health system clients with deep-dive, project-based policy counsel and expertise in the design and implementation of forward-thinking, value-based solutions. Rockingstone is composed of former Senate staffers who were instrumental in the development of the Affordable Care Act.

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Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review

The House and Senate both adjourned for the year after passing a four-week stopgap spending bill that will keep the government open until Jan. 19 and prevent $136 billion in automatic under congressional PAYGO rules. The Senate overwhelmingly rejected a proposal from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on PAYGO to strip the language avoiding a potential sequestration, which would have been triggered in 2019 if President Trump were to sign the tax bill in January. Just eight Senate Republicans voted to enforce the PAYGO cuts, while every Democrat agreed to waive the pending sequestration. Although Congress was able to avoid a government shutdown, they failed to complete work on an $81-billion disaster aid package to help California, Gulf Coast states and Puerto Rico recover from wildfires and hurricanes, as lawmakers scrambled Thursday to wrap up business before a Christmas break.

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TRP’s Shea McCarthy Forecasts Possible Entitlement Reforms in 2018

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In an Inside Health Policy article published December 15, Thorn Run Partners Senior Vice President Shea McCarthy discusses the possibility of entitlement reform next year. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has said that Republicans plan to pass entitlement reform through the reconcilation process next year. McCarthy astutely points out that GOP leadership has been reading from the same playbook with respect to their biggest policy priorities this year, and it stands to reason they will plan to do so going forward. However, McCarthy noted that major cuts to Medicare and Medicaid would be a tough undertaking for the GOP-led Congress. "Major cuts to Medicare or Medicaid will be even more difficult to move through Congress than ACA repeal — and without all the sweeteners that come along with tax reform," said McCarthy. "And with a shrinking margin in the Senate, Republicans should be realistic about whether they’re writing their election year messaging platform, or a bill that can actually become law.” 

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Today on the Hill: Congress Poised to Approve Tax Reform in Votes Today

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The conference report for the GOP-backed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is expected to reach the floor of both chambers today, as Republicans in Congress are poised to deliver on their promise to overhaul the nation’s tax regime for both individuals and businesses. In the Senate — where the bill will likely be passed on a razor-thin margin — theoretical holdouts Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Corker (R-TN), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) have already committed to voting in favor of the bill, which should make the vote relatively free of the drama that defined the effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) earlier this year. On timing, the House vote will almost assuredly be completed later this morning, which then triggers a 10-hour procedural clock before the upper chamber can hold their vote on final passage. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has indicated that he intends to hold that final vote tonight, which would result in a final vote on the bill at some point late this evening.  President Trump is expected to take a victory lap with Republicans and sign the bill later this week.

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Financial Services Report

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Looking Ahead

Near Term

  • The House and Senate are poised to approve the tax reform bill and if everything goes according to plan, it will be on the President’s desk by mid-week.
  • Funding for the government expires on Friday.  A continuing resolution to punt the hard choices of what to include in a long-term spending bill until mid-January has been teed up and is expected to pass the Senate on Friday.  How late on Friday remains to be determined. 
  • The House will also take up a bill (H.R. 3312) that would revise the authorities of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) in their designation of certain financial services firms as “systemically important” by replacing the Dodd-Frank threshold of $50 billion in assets, and instead requiring the regulators to come up with an activities-based approach.
  • The House is also expected to take up the “Corporate Governance Reform and Transparency Act of 2017 (H.R. 4015).  This legislation would require firms that give investors proxy voting advice to register with the SEC and would also increase the disclose of these firm’s methods and potential conflicts of interest.
  • The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold votes on a slate of nominees to fill vacancies at the Ex-Im board on Tuesday.  This includes the nominee to be President of the Bank, Scott Garrett. However, his nomination has faced bipartisan opposition and may not be approved.  

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Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review

The twin battles over government funding and tax reform both took steps forward last week. On the funding track, a proposed continuing resolution (CR) backed by House Republicans would provide defense spending for a year and domestic spending for five weeks — an approach viewed as a non-starter in the Senate, where Democrats have demanded “parity” in increases to defense and domestic spending. Lawmakers will likely be looking to strike a limited agreement this week that will kick the larger funding fight into January.

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Today on the Hill: CR and Tax Package Progress as Congressional Leaders Plot Busy Week Before Holiday Break

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The twin battles over government funding and tax reform both took steps forward yesterday as House Republicans released the text of their preferred version of a continuing resolution (CR) and tax conferees reached an “agreement in principle” on the final form of a legislative package. On the former issue, the House Republican CR (text) would fund defense spending for a year and domestic spending for five weeks – an approach endorsed by conservatives in the House, but viewed as a non-starter in the Senate, where Democrats have demanded “parity” in increases to defense and domestic spending. House Republican leaders are reportedly facing pressure from the conservative side of their caucus to pass the bill and leave town in an attempt to force the Senate to accept their version. However, with 8 Democrat votes needed in the Senate for any funding measure, that approach is likely unpassable in the upper chamber and the brinksmanship approach would amount to a serious escalation of the threat of a government shutdown. Bipartisan and bicameral negotiations will continue behind the scenes ahead of next Friday’s deadline.

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