Health Policy Report (2/13)

The Week in Review The Senate worked to continue filling President Trump’s Cabinet last week, with successful confirmations including David Shulkin for Veterans’ Affairs Secretary, Linda McMahon for Small Business Administrator, Mick Mulvaney for Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Scott Pruitt for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Both Mulvaney and […]

The Week in Review The Senate spent most of the last week working to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominees to top administration posts, spending a total of 90 hours of debate to confirm three key cabinet officials: Betsy DeVos as secretary of Education, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) as attorney general, and Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) […]

The Week in Review Congress continued to take aim at Obama-era regulations last week, with both chambers passing disapprovals of a Securities and Exchange Commission rule requiring companies to publish the payments they make to foreign governments as a part of their attempts to extract natural resources (H.J. Res. 41), an environmental regulation that aims […]

The Week in Review President Trump’s first week in office was marked by a flurry of executive orders filling some of his most prominent campaign promises, including measures to begin construction of a wall along the nation’s southern border, put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States, and temporarily ban travelers from […]

The Week in Review After taking the oath of office on Friday, Donald Trump is officially the 45th president of the United States, turning the page on the mostly gridlock-ridden two terms of former President Barack Obama and ushering in a unified Republican government. While Trump did not mention health reform in his inaugural address, […]

The Week in Review As Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office, his incoming administration was rattled by the publishing of an unverified document alleging Russia had compromising material on him. The contents of the document were reportedly shared with Trump during his briefing with U.S. intelligence officials the week prior. Trump denied […]

The Week in Review The inception of the 115th Congress was marked by controversy last Tuesday, after a day typically reserved for the pomp and circumstance of swearing new Members of Congress into office quickly devolved into a firestorm over a rules change that would have gutted the independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). Rank-and-file […]

The Week in Review No major legislative stories broke during the holidays, but political observers continue to monitor the presidential transition process as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20. Over the break, Trump sent mixed messages about the transition, claiming in comments to the press that it was going “smoothly,” but […]

The Week in Review It was a quiet week in Washington as lawmakers and their staff trickled out of town ahead of the holidays. One event of note was a meeting of the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), who approved their recommendations on the reauthorization of the CHIP […]

The Week in Review The 114th Congress closed a week early after both chambers were able to clear a stopgap spending bill (H.R. 2028) and water resources measure (S. 612) that were keeping lawmakers from leaving Washington for the holidays. In the House, the continuing resolution (CR) – which funds the government through April 28 […]

After six years of campaigning to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and over 50 votes held to undercut the law, Republicans in Congress will be ‘shooting with real bullets’ in the 115th Congress – thanks in part to the election of Donald Trump – and will finally be positioned to deliver on their long-held […]

The Week in Review Despite last-second concerns from some senators, the House easily passed the legislative vehicle (H.R. 34) for the 21st Century Cures medical research package on a 392-26 vote last Wednesday. Passage in the lower chamber sets up consideration in the Senate this week, where the bill is expected to pass and be […]