Health Care Checkup
February 12, 2021
THE BIG PICTURE
This week, House committees began crafting a budget reconciliation bill that will incorporate President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. Proposals laid out in the committees’ draft language include $130 billion for K-12 schools, $25 billion in rental assistance, $15 billion for airline workers, and the $15 minimum wage hike. The House Ways and Means Committee’s plan includes provisions such as the $1,400 stimulus checks, the extension of temporary federal unemployment benefits through August 29, 2021, and the reduction in health care premiums for low- and middle-income families by increasing the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) premium tax credits for 2021 and 2022. House Energy and Commerce Democrats released a plan Tuesday evening that aims to expand Medicaid by giving states greater incentives to enhance their Medicaid programs. The House Ways and Means Committee finished their markup on Thursday and the House Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to finish its markup sometime today.
 
On Tuesday, the Biden Administration announced that, beginning the week of February 15, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) will begin directly receiving COVID-19 vaccine supply. This program will be phased in, with the first phase including at least one FQHC in each state. In the coming weeks, the program is expected to expand to 250 centers. The program is part of the Administration’s broader effort to ensure that all communities have access to the COVID vaccine. The Administration will also begin increasing the overall weekly vaccine supply to states to 11 million doses, which is a 28% increase since President Biden took office in January.
 
On Wednesday, President Biden announced the members of his COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. The Task Force is made up of 12 diverse experts who have experience working with a wide array of populations. The team will issue recommendations to help inform COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. This will include recommendations on the “equitable allocation of COVID-19 resources and relief funds, effective outreach and communication to underserved and minority populations, and improving cultural proficiency within the Federal Government.”
 
On Thursday, President Biden visited the National Institutes of Health, where he announced that his Administration has finalized the purchase of an additional 100 million vaccines each from Moderna and Pfizer. The additional supply will be available earlier than expected in May and will put the U.S. on track to vaccinate around 300 million people by this July.
What to Expect Next Week: House committees will continue marking up their portions of the budget reconciliation bill, and a vote on the House floor is expected to occur the week of February 22. Additionally, the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump will likely wrap up with a vote in the Senate. To convict the former President of inciting the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a two-thirds majority vote is needed in the Senate, which is unlikely at this time.
DEEP DIVE
Democrats Move Forward with Budget Reconciliation, COVID-19 Relief Plan
This week, House committees began crafting a budget reconciliation bill that will incorporate President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. Proposals laid out in the committees’ draft language include $130 billion for K-12 schools, $25 billion in rental assistance, $15 billion for airline workers, and the $15 minimum wage hike. The House Ways and Means Committee’s plan includes provisions such as the $1,400 stimulus checks, the extension of temporary federal unemployment benefits through August 29, 2021, and the reduction in health care premiums for low- and middle-income families by increasing the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) premium tax credits for 2021 and 2022. House Energy and Commerce Democrats released a plan Tuesday evening that aims to expand Medicaid by giving states greater incentives to enhance their Medicaid programs. Additionally, the proposal would end the Medicaid drug rebate cap, which currently caps rebates at 100% of the drug’s average manufacturer price. The plan would incentivize states that have not expanded their Medicaid programs to do so by increasing the federal funding share of state Medicaid programs by 5% for two years. In addition, the plan includes $7.5 billion for preparing, administering, and tracking COVID-19 vaccines; $1 billion to combat vaccine hesitancy; and $5.2 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support the research and development of additional COVID-19 therapies. Twelve House committees will meet in the coming days to finalize the bill for a House floor vote during the week of February 22. Lawmakers are aiming to have the final bill passed before mid-March, when the enhanced federal unemployment benefits from December’s stimulus package will expire.

Biden Administration Announces Launch of Community Health Centers Vaccination Program and Increase in Vaccine Supply
On Tuesday, the Biden Administration announced that, beginning the week of February 15, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) will begin directly receiving COVID-19 vaccine supply. FQHCs provide primary care services to underserved communities at more than 1,300 locations across the country. Approximately 67% of the population that these communities serve are at or below the poverty line, and roughly 60% are racial and ethnic minorities. This program will be phased in, with the first phase including at least one FQHC in each state. In the coming weeks, the program is expected to expand to 250 centers. The program is part of the Administration’s broader effort to ensure that all communities have access to the COVID vaccine. The Administration will also begin increasing the overall weekly vaccine supply to states to 11 million doses, which is a 28% increase since President Biden took office in January. The Administration has committed to keeping the weekly allotment to states at 11 million for the next three weeks and “will continue to work with manufacturers in their efforts to ramp up supply.” On Thursday, President Biden visited the National Institutes of Health, where he announced that his Administration has finalized the purchase of an additional 100 million vaccines each from Moderna and Pfizer. The additional supply will be available earlier than expected in May and will put the U.S. on track to vaccinate around 300 million people by this July. In addition, Biden’s COVID-19 coordinator, Jeff Zients, announced on Wednesday that the federal government is working with Texas to set up three new mass vaccination sites in the state. This news came one week after the announcement that mass vaccination sites would begin being set up in California. The Administration plans to continue expanding mass vaccination sites across the nation.
President Biden Announces Members of his Health Equity Task Force
On Wednesday, President Biden announced the members of his COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. The Task Force is made up of 12 diverse experts who have experience working with a wide array of populations. The team will issue recommendations to help inform COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. This will include recommendations on the “equitable allocation of COVID-19 resources and relief funds, effective outreach and communication to underserved and minority populations, and improving cultural proficiency within the Federal Government.” Additionally, the Task Force will make recommendations to improve data collection and long-term plans to address data shortfalls regarding minority populations. The team’s work will conclude after they issue a final report to the COVID-19 Response Coordinator that describes the “drivers of observed COVID-19 inequities, the potential for ongoing disparities faced by COVID-19 survivors, and actions to ensure that future pandemic responses do not ignore or exacerbate health inequities.”
Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Urge President Biden to Increase Access to Drug Abuse Treatment
On Monday, a group of bipartisan lawmakers, including Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), wrote a letter to President Biden, urging him to increase drug abuse treatment access. The lawmakers asked the President to work with Congress to “eliminate the burdensome buprenorphine wavier (commonly referred to as the x-waiver) requirement that places undue limitations on access to this life-saving treatment, and adds to the stigma associated with treatment for substance use disorder” (SUD). Currently, buprenorphine, a life-saving medication, can only be prescribed to those suffering from SUD by medical professionals who have received a waiver from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The lawmakers wrote that this “burdensome requirement does not improve patient safety, but does lead to treatment bottlenecks and a lack of providers across the country, particularly in rural areas,” and “limit[s] access to treatment even as medical professionals are able to prescribe the same drug for pain management without jumping through bureaucratic hoops.” The lawmakers also asked President Biden to support the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act (MAT), which would eliminate the x-waiver and allow the Secretary of HHS to conduct a national campaign to educate medical practitioners about the change in law.

Special Enrollment Period for Health Insurance Marketplace to Begin February 15
On Friday, it was announced that the Special Enrollment Period for the Health Insurance Marketplace will begin on February 15. This is in accordance with an Executive Order than President Biden signed on January 28. Consumers will be able to enroll in a Marketplace health plan through HealthCare.gov until May 15, 2021. The 13 states and the District of Columbia that operate their own Marketplace platforms have said that they will offer a "similar opportunity". HHS Acting Secretary Norris Cochran said in a statement, "President Biden was clear: we need to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and give more Americans access to health care, especially during this pandemic, which has further demonstrated the importance of having the right coverage. This Special Enrollment Period will give Americans who need affordable, quality health insurance an opportunity to get covered, and we encourage folks to head to HealthCare.gov starting on Monday to explore their options." More information can be found here.

CDC Announces New Guidance and Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an operational strategy to help enable K-12 schools to open safely and remain open amid the coronavirus pandemic. The strategy "presents recommendations based on the best-available evidence at the time of release. As science and data on COVID-19 continue to evolve, guidance and recommendations will be updated to reflect new evidence. This document is intended to complement CDC’s guidance, tools, and resources for K-12 schools, including guidance on operating schools during COVID-19 and overview of testing for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)." Additional information can be found here.
SENATE HEARINGS AND EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
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HOUSE HEARINGS AND EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
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ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCEMENTS
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
 
Food and Drug Administration
 
Guidance Documents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institutes of Health
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