The Latest on the Government Shutdown

Voters in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District will head to the polls today for a highly-anticipated special election after the 2018 race was marred by credible allegations of election fraud. Democrat Dan McCready — who was also the 2018 nominee — will face off against NC State Rep Dan Bishop in a tossup race that […]

Congress is set to return to action today as lawmakers gear up for a high-profile legislative blitz to close out 2019. Government funding will be a top priority for legislators when both chambers gavel in as lawmakers have 13 just legislative days to avert another government funding lapse. While the Senate Appropriations Committee plans to […]

The Week Ahead Congress is set to return to action today as lawmakers gear up for a high-profile legislative blitz to close out 2019. Government funding will be a top priority for legislators when both chambers gavel in as the Sept. 30 funding deadline looms. While the Senate Appropriations Committee plans to begin marking up […]

Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay for Role in Opioid Epidemic Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman released a decision last Monday declaring Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals played a punishable role in the opioid crisis. He ordered Johnson & Johnson pay more than $572 million based on public nuisance claims to […]

Trump Administration Proposes Changes to Part 2 Privacy Rules Last Thursday, the Trump administration released a much-anticipated rule which proposes updates to the consent requirements governing the release of patient information for individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorder. The rule, developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is designed to […]

CMS Adds Star Ratings to All Exchanges The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance last Thursday indicating that it would bring its Star Ratings — long the province of Medicare Advantage and programs like Nursing Home Compare — to all CMS-administered health care exchanges. Starting with the open enrollment for plan year […]

White House: Trump Will Announce IPI Model in September President Trump is expected give a major health policy speech in September, including a roll-out of an international reference price system for prescription drugs. As reported last week in Bloomberg News, the President’s senior adviser, Kellyanne Conway, said that an international pricing index (IPI) for purchasing […]

The Week in Review Senators reconvened last week to address key legislative priorities ahead of the August recess.  In addition to a host of presidential nominations, the Senate addressed budgetary spending caps and the federal debt ceiling by clearing the House-passed budget agreement. The deal — which approves $321 billion in new spending and suspends […]

Both the House and Senate are in the August Recess and will return on September 9th. When the Senate returns in September it will continue approving executive nominations, including those of Kelly Craft to be UN Ambassador and Michelle Bowman to the Fed Board.   The House Financial Services Committee will also have a full […]

Senators may look to wrap up legislative business for the summer later this afternoon. In addition to a host of presidential nominations, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has queued up the bipartisan budget agreement for a vote at some point during today’s session. Final passage of the measure — which would boost spending by […]

Senators will reconvene this afternoon as they look to wrap up key legislative priorities ahead of the August recess. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is expected to swiftly call up the House-passed budget deal (text; summary), as the upper chamber will need to hit the ground running in September on the 2020 appropriations process. In addition […]

The Week in Review House lawmakers cleared (284-149) the sweeping budget package (text; summary) last week, addressing key fiscal deadlines prior to leaving for the six-week August recess. Struck by top negotiators early last week, the deal provides for a $321 billion boost in federal spending over the next two years, while also suspending the debt ceiling for two years. The bill is expected to pass […]