Congressional:

House Passes FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill

On Thursday, the House passed H.R.7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, which includes the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act and a package of health care extenders and reforms, by a vote of 341 - 88. The bill would fund the Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services (HHS) departments at $221 billion, a slight reduction from $221.4 billion in FY 2025. Of the $221 billion, $116 billion would go to discretionary spending for HHS. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would receive $48.7 billion, and the bill includes a provision that would prohibit the administration from capping overhead costs funded by NIH research grants at 15 percent. The bill would also maintain level funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at $9.1 billion, provide $7.4 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and $8.9 billion for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The bill now moves to the Senate, which must pass the bill before January 30 to avoid a partial government shutdown. The explanatory statement can be found here, the Republican bill summary here, and the Democratic bill summary here.

The health care extenders section of H.R.7148 includes a variety of extensions and new provisions, including:

• Public Health Extenders: Extends funding for several public health programs, including community health centers, the National Health Service Corps, teaching health center GME programs, and the Special Diabetes Programs, generally through the end of 2026.
• Medicare Extenders: Continues several hospital-focused extenders through 2026, including the Medicare-dependent hospital (MDH) program, and the Medicare Low Volume Adjustment. Other provisions would extend add-on payments for ground ambulance services and the work geographic index floor under the physician fee schedule.
• Medicaid DSH: Delays Affordable Care Act (ACA) reductions to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments until 2028.
• Medicare Telehealth Extenders: Extends several Medicare telehealth flexibilities for two additional years, preserving policies introduced during COVID-19 that expanded access to virtual care.
• PBM Reforms: Requires PBMs to pass through 100 percent of negotiated rebates for employer-sponsored plans and requires delinking PBM compensation from the price of Part D drugs. It would also require increased transparency about the nature of rebates, discounts, fees, and other sources of revenue generated by PBMs.
• Other Provisions: The package includes policies to support research into therapies for rare diseases, improve access and continuity of care for low-income children, military families, and pediatric patients receiving cross-state specialty care, as well as establishing Medicare coverage for multi-cancer early detection screening tests.

Read the section-by-section of the health extenders here.

House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee and Ways & Means Committee Hold Back-to-Back Hearings on Health Care Affordability with Insurance CEOs

On Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee and the Ways and Means Committee held back-to-back hearings on healthcare affordability, with five of the largest health insurance CEOs testifying: Stephen Hemsley of UnitedHealth Group, David Joyner of CVS Health, Gail Boudreaux of Elevance Health, David Cordani of Cigna Group, and Paul Markovich of Ascendiun. During the hearing, members raised affordability and coverage issues in the private market and Medicare Advantage program. There was also bipartisan criticism of the increase in vertical integration of insurers with pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and clinics. Members also expressed frustration with the use of prior authorization and insurance claim denial rates. Read the Energy & Commerce witness testimonies here and the Ways and Means testimonies here.

House Energy & Commerce Republicans Launch Investigation into Ongoing Medicaid Fraud in Minnesota

On Tuesday, House Energy & Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair John Joyce (R-PA), and Health Subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) announced an investigation into reports of fraud in Minnesota's Medicaid program. In a letter sent to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and the Temporary Commissioner of Minnesota’s Department of Human Services, Shireen Gandhi, the members stated that Minnesota has not adequately addressed reports of misuse within the program and highlighted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) ongoing audit of the state's Medicaid program. The committee is requesting more information by January 30 on the guardrails Minnesota has in place to prevent Medicaid fraud and the steps Minnesota's Department of Health is taking to disenroll fraudulent enrollees. Read the press release here. 

Notable Bills:

Representatives Trahan and Valadao Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Save Essential Health Systems

Late last week, Representatives Lori Trahan (D-MA) and David Valadao (R-CA) reintroduced the Reinforcing Essential Health Systems for Communities Act, bipartisan legislation to formally recognize “essential health systems” in federal law and unlock new pathways for federal funding and support for safety net hospitals that care for large numbers of uninsured and low-income patients. Read the press release here and the bill here. 

Executive Branch:

United States Formally Withdraws from World Health Organization

On Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of State announced that the United States has completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). President Trump announced the U.S. plan to leave the WHO in January 2025. During the yearlong process, the U.S. stopped funding WHO, withdrew all personnel from WHO, and began pivoting activities previously conducted with WHO to direct bilateral engagements with other countries and organizations. In a joint statement, Secretary of State Rubio and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kennedy stated that the withdrawal “responds to the WHO’s failures during the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to rectify the harm from those failures inflicted on the American people.” Read the press release here.

HHS Secretary Kennedy Launches ‘Take Back Your Health’ Tour in Pennsylvania

On Wednesday, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., launched the nationwide "Take Back Your Health" Tour in Pennsylvania to highlight the Trump administration's first-year public health accomplishments in the President's second term. Read the press release here.

Health Information Technology Advisory Committee to Resume Meetings

The Health Information Technology Advisory Committee is set to resume meetings on February 19, after they were paused amid changes to the Department of Health and Human Services last year. The panel advises the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on the formulation of rules and guidance for the sharing of health data. See more information on the committee here.