House Committees wrapped up their markups of reconciliation instructions on the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation last week as Democratic lawmakers look to get the measure onto the floor for a vote. Members on the House Budget Committee will meet this week to combine all of the reconciliation instructions into the final $1.9 trillion virus relief bill, with floor consideration likely to occur the following week of February 22.\u00a0A formal notice for the Budget panel’s forthcoming meeting has yet to be posted.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the Senate\ncompleted the impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump over the\nweekend. In a 57-43 vote, Senators fell short of the two-thirds majority\nrequired to convict the former President on a charge that he incited the January 6\ninsurrection on Capitol Hill. No votes are scheduled in the upper chamber\nthis week as the Senate stands adjourned until Monday, February 22. When\nsenators return next week, they are expected to focus on confirming President\nJoe Biden\u2019s cabinet nominees, as well as COVID-19 relief. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden Administration\nto Rescind Trump Medicaid Work Requirements <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Biden\nadministration last Friday began the process of revoking Medicaid work\nrequirements. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent letters\nto states with previously approved Medicaid work requirement waivers informing\nthem that the administration has \u201cpreliminarily\u201d determined to revoke the\npolicy and will give states 30 days to submit information contesting the\ndecision. The letters cite the administration\u2019s \u201cserious concerns about testing\npolicies that create a risk of substantial loss of health care coverage in the\nnear term,\u201d as well as the COVID-19 pandemic\u2019s impact on health and\naccessibility. Administration officials are reportedly planning to rescind the\nTrump administration\u2019s 2018 letter announcing the work requirement policy, as\nwell as the 2020 letter from former CMS administrator Seema Verma aimed at\nmaking it more difficult for the incoming Biden administration to quickly\noverturn the policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n President Biden issued\nan executive order last month directing the review of Medicaid work\nrequirements. The Trump administration had approved work requirements in 13\nstates, and 10 others were still seeking approval for waivers. No work\nrequirements are currently in effect due to rulings by federal courts, and the\npolicy is up for review by the Supreme Court on March 29. <\/p>\n\n\n\n White House Purchases\n200 Million Additional Vaccine Doses <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n President Biden\nannounced last Thursday that the administration has purchased an additional 200\nmillion doses of COVID-19 vaccines, bringing the U.S. supply to 600 million\ndoses. During his announcement on Thursday, President Biden criticized the\nTrump administration for lacking a comprehensive plan for the vaccine rollout.\nHe stated that his predecessor \u201cdid not do his job in getting ready for the\nmassive challenge of vaccinating hundreds of millions of Americans.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The president\nexplained that 100 million doses each were purchased from Pfizer and Moderna,\nand that the companies will step up their production timelines in order to\ndeliver at least 100 million doses by the end of May. Every American who wants\nto be vaccinated will be able to do so by the end of July, according to\nPresident Biden. The administration paid the same prices for the vaccines as\npreviously, paying $2 billion for the additional Pfizer doses and $1.65 billion\nfor the additional Moderna doses. Additional supply is also expected to come\nfrom Johnson & Johnson\u2019s vaccine, which is set to be reviewed by the Food\nand Drug Administration on February 26. Johnson & Johnson expects to supply\n100 million doses by the middle of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The administration\nalso announced last Tuesday that it plans to send vaccine doses directly to\ncommunity health centers to promote equitable vaccine distribution in\ntraditionally underserved areas. The administration plans to phase in the\nprogram by sending doses initially to at least one health center in every\njurisdiction across the country, with one million doses divided across 250\nclinics as the program ramps up. Administration officials explained they will\nfocus on clinics primarily treating individuals experiencing homelessness,\nagricultural and migrant workers, public housing residents, and those with\nlimited English proficiency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden Changes Position\nin ACA Case Before SCOTUS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n