Health Policy Report (2/13)

The White House Council of Economic Advisers has released a white paper addressing prescription drug prices, detailing the administration’s plans to “reduce the price Americans pay for biopharmaceutical products” and “rais[e] innovation incentives for products in the future.” The 30-page proposal has significant implications for stakeholder across the health care spectrum, as it offers wide-ranging […]

The Week in Review President Trump’s first State of the Union address on Tuesday was the main highlight from the week as the President offered a defense of his first year in office and a glimpse of the White House’s priorities for 2018. Specifically, the President took a victory lap on the Republican-led tax reform […]

The Week in Review Partisan rancor over government funding and immigration came to a boil last week, as lawmakers were ultimately unable to come up with an agreement to avoid the first lapse of government funding since 2013. While the House managed to pass a one-month continuing resolution (CR) — including a 6-year reauthorization of […]

The Week in Review Both chambers began their 2018 legislative work in earnest last week with the top headline being the ongoing funding negotiations to keep the government open past Jan. 19. Despite fervent behind-the-scenes discussions between lawmakers and White House officials for a long-term omnibus to set funding for the remainder of the fiscal […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

The Week in Review Lawmakers temporarily avoided a government shutdown by passing a two-week continuing resolution (CR) in both chambers last week, setting up Dec. 22 as the new deadline to fund the government. That effort is expected to be a lot more contentious as Democrats will be seeking policy concessions in exchange for their […]

The Week in Review The tax reform debate in the Senate consumed nearly all of the political oxygen in Washington last week, ultimately culminating in a 51-49 passage of the proposal in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Despite many Republican senators expressing reservations, the only “no” vote from the majority came from Sen. Bob […]

The Week in Review Both chambers of Congress were in recess for the Thanksgiving holiday. The most notable development in the absence of floor action was the formal release of legislative text detailing the Senate tax reform plan, which will likely appear on the Senate floor this week.

The Week in Review Tax reform headlines dominated the week as both chambers took significant steps to advancing tax reform legislation. On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee advanced the upper chamber’s legislation on a party-line vote after a contentious four-day markup.  That move came on the heels of the House approving its version of tax […]

The Week in Review A big political week both inside and out of Washington saw victories for both parties as Democrats notched electoral wins and Republicans moved a step closer to passing tax reform legislation.