End-of-2026 Health Policy Landscape: What Congress Could Address Before Year-End

Congress has left for the July 4 recess, and will return to Washington the week of July 10. Awaiting lawmakers is a daunting agenda of major policy initiatives and must-pass items, with a limited calendar in which to pass them. Of course, chief among those items is the stalled effort to repeal and replace the […]

Looking Ahead Near Term All eyes will be on the Senate this week, as Leader McConnell attempts to thread the needle on Healthcare reform.   With only two votes to spare, there could be a lot of sausage to make before the end of the week.   The House will take up two bills endorsed by the […]

This week has the potential to be the most important of the year in healthcare, as the Senate could vote as early as Thursday evening on their version of a bill to repeal and replace major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will likely bring the bill to the […]

The Week in Review The Senate’s version of a health care overhaul was released with a great deal of fanfare last week as supporters and detractors quickly tried to establish their positions on the bill. Four conservative Republican senators — Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Mike Lee (R-UT) — […]

In an Inside Health Policy article published yesterday, Thorn Run Partner’s Senior Vice President Shea McCarthy offered his take on the role of conservatives in the House — namely the Republican Study Committee (RSC) and the House Freedom Caucus — in looming negotiations between the two chambers as lawmakers continue to digest the Senate’s healthcare […]

Our Take The horrific events of last week drew poignant remarks from leaders on both sides of the aisle, who along with others, not only condemned the violence but urged participants on all sides to tone down the vitriol of the current state of political discourse.   Unfortunately, like all too many parents know, when petulant […]

As the summer churns along, Republican leaders are hoping to break the stalemate on their major priorities, namely health care legislation, tax reform, and the appropriations process for the 2018 fiscal year. All three appear to be deadlocked at the moment, with health care reform at the front of the queue. According to a report […]

The Week in Review The week in Washington was marred by tragedy after a gunman opened fire at a baseball practice for Republican Members of Congress ahead of the annual Congressional Baseball Game, injuring four, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA). Members of Congress were shaken by the event, particularly after it was apparent […]

Our Take Questions continue to swirl around how Congress will be able to address the ever-advancing deadline to raise the debt ceiling.  Will they pass a clean extension as Secretary Mnuchin as indicated is his preference?  Or, will Freedom Caucus members and OMB Director Mulvaney be able to successfully extract concessions in the negotiations to […]

In an Inside Health Policy article published last week, Thorn Run Partners Senior Vice President Shea McCarthy noted that he has heard rumblings within the GOP that the Senate could get rid of the community rating waiver in the House's American Health Care Act. “Early reports indicate that the Senate plans to keep the House’s waivers allowing states […]

This morning's "Morning Money" piece from Politico featured comments from Thorn Run’s Jason Rosenstock, who offers his take on the current state of play between both parties on the debt limit. “Democrats whose history under the Gephardt Rule shows they never wanted to make this a public issue, and who are tired of having to […]

The Week in Review Washington was abuzz as Congress returned from the Memorial Day recess with big-ticket items on its schedule. Namely, this included a House floor vote on a bill to revamp the nation’s financial regulations and the highly-anticipated testimony of former FBI Director James Comey in the Senate Intelligence Committee.