Congressional:

House Advances FDA Spending Bill

On Thursday, the House advanced legislation to fund the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Agriculture Department for fiscal year 2027 by a 213-210 vote. The bill (H.R. 8646) would give the FDA a total of $7.1 billion, with $3.4 billion from appropriations, slightly below the 2026 enacted levels, and the remainder from user fees paid by industry to the agency. The bill would increase funds for food inspections by about $2 million. It would also allocate about $8 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, roughly $200 million below the fiscal 2026 enacted level. Senate appropriators postponed their scheduled meeting to mark up their version of the Agriculture-FDA bill on Thursday morning.

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Holds Hearing on Fraud in Ohio Medicaid Waiver Programs

On Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses held a hearing examining fraud in Ohio’s Medicaid Waiver program. During the hearing, Task Force Chair Brandon Gill (R-TX) and other Republicans focused on Medicaid fraud in Ohio's Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver program, attributing the fraud to foreign-born criminal networks and weak state verification controls. Democrats argued that the hearing was a pretext to justify cuts to Medicaid and the social safety net, emphasizing that the vast majority of beneficiaries who rely on the program are enrolled legitimately. Read Mehlman’s hearing summary here.

Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Gender Transition Procedures for Minors

On Wednesday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing titled "Protecting Our Children: Exposing the Dangers of Irreversible Gender Transition Procedures on Minors.” During the hearing, members were divided on party lines over the significance of the issue. Democrats on the committee pointed to studies that highlight the extreme rarity of gender-affirming surgeries in teens. Republicans cited other studies suggesting it occurs more frequently and called for federal legislation to ban the procedures and to stop federal funding for organizations that provide them, though no specific legislation was discussed. Democrats characterized the hearing as a political distraction and argued that gender-affirming care is supported by major medical associations and that treatment decisions should remain between parents, children, and their doctors without government interference. Read Mehlman’s hearing summary here.

House Appropriations Committee Releases FY27 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill

On Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee released a draft fiscal year 2027 Labor-HHS-Education spending bill, proposing $111.9 billion for the Health and Human Services Department, roughly 4 percent below this year's enacted level, according to the Democratic summary. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would see a small increase of $100 million over enacted levels, for a total of $48.8 billion. The bill would also provide $8.1 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an 11 percent, or $1 billion, reduction compared with fiscal 2026 enacted levels. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would receive $4.1 billion for the agency's administrative expenses, the same levels as current funding. The Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee plans to mark up the bill this morning, and the full committee is scheduled to mark up the bill on Tuesday. Read the Republican press release and summary here and the Democratic press release and summary here. 

Notable Bills:

Representatives Trahan, Obernolte Unveil Federal AI Framework Discussion Draft

On Thursday, Representatives Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Lori Trahan (D-MA), members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released a discussion draft of the Great American AI Act, bipartisan legislation to create a federal framework for how the United States governs artificial intelligence. The discussion draft was released with Representatives Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA), Scott Franklin (R-FL), Scott Peters (D-CA), and Erin Houchin (R-IN). The discussion draft is intended to solicit feedback from stakeholders, experts, and the public before the bill is formally introduced. Read the press release here, the discussion draft here, and the section-by-section here.

Representative Latta Introduces Bill to Increase Transparency and Accountability in Medicaid HCBS Programs

On Wednesday, Representative Bob Latta (R-OH) introduced the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Anti-Fraud Reporting Act of 2026. The legislation would amend Section 1915(c)(2) of the Social Security Act to require states, on an annual basis, to submit a report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services that includes a summary of any waste, fraud, or abuse detected in HCBS waiver programs and a description of actions taken to prevent, detect, and address such activities. The legislation is co-sponsored by Representatives Dave Taylor (R-OH), Tom Barrett (R-MI), and Jodey Arrington (R-TX). Read the press release here and the bill here. 

Executive Branch:

CMS Launches Nationwide Framework to Implement Medicaid Work Requirements

On Tuesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an Interim Final Rule with Comment (IFC) implementing the requirement that certain adult Medicaid applicants and enrollees must, as a condition of Medicaid eligibility, meet an 80 hours per month work requirement, through employment, education, work programs, or community service. The work requirement applies to non-pregnant adults between the ages of 19 and 64 who are not entitled to or enrolled in Medicare and are eligible for or enrolled in the Medicaid adult group or in certain section 1115 demonstrations that provide minimum essential coverage to adult beneficiaries. The work requirement must be implemented in applicable states no later than January 1, 2027. Read the fact sheet here and the press release here.

CMS Issues Final Rule for Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model

On Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the Alternative Payment Model Updates and the Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model final rule. The rule aims to increase the number of kidney transplants and improve patients’ experience during the transplant process. The modifications include excluding military and Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals from the program, updating the number of kidney procedures required to be eligible for payments under the model, and revising timelines for repaying performance penalties. The model's goal is to increase access to kidney transplants by maximizing the use of available deceased-donor kidneys. Hospitals that participate are eligible for up to $15,000 in bonus payments per kidney transplant and could be penalized up to $2,000 per procedure for poor performance. To prevent selection bias, CMS requires that approximately 50% of all eligible kidney transplant hospitals in the United States participate in the program. The six-year model began on July 1, 2025, and will continue until June 30, 2031. Read the final rule here.

President Trump Issues Executive Order Reclassifying Federal Worker Leadership Positions

On Wednesday, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) titled Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce, which reclassifies around 8,000 senior policy-influencing positions into Schedule Policy/Career, which are at-will positions. The reclassification would make it easier for agencies to terminate those employees. Read the EO here and the White House fact sheet here.

President Trump Issues Executive Order Advancing American Artificial Intelligence (AI) Innovation

On Tuesday, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) to advance American artificial intelligence (AI) innovation to strengthen America’s cybersecurity, protect critical infrastructure, and ensure the United States remains the global leader in AI innovation. The EO asks AI companies to voluntarily submit their models for review 30 days before their public release, giving federal agencies time to address any threats. It also directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to facilitate access to cybersecurity tools for operators of critical infrastructure, such as rural hospitals. Read the EO here, and the White House fact sheet here.

President Trump Issues Executive Order Realigning United States Core Childhood Vaccine Recommendations with Best Practices from Peer Countries

Late last week, on Friday, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to review the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) scientific assessment on childhood vaccines as a guiding resource for the Federal Government, and “take any appropriate steps to update” the schedule. Read the press EO here, and the White House fact sheet here.

HHS Unveils Plan to Combat Lyme Disease and Advance Treatment

Late last week, on Friday, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced a series of major initiatives to strengthen the nation’s response to Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. HHS actions include a multi-million-dollar pilot program focused on tick control, up to $2.5 million in innovation challenges, funding for NIH researchers to combat Alpha-gal syndrome, and a public-private collaboration to help patients connect with experienced providers. Read the press release here.