The Biden Administration and Republican House leaders plan to continue negotiations over the Memorial Day weekend to try to reach an agreement to avoid defaulting on the nation's debt. It has been reported that negotiators have tentatively agreed to raise the debt limit for two years with discretionary spending caps, not related to defense and veterans, for the same period of time. Other reported areas of agreement include a rollback of funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for IRS agents, as well as a mechanism to incentivize Congress to pass all 12 annual appropriations bills. Republican priorities relating to stricter work requirements for certain cash assistance and health care programs and permitting reform remain sticking points between the two sides. The House is scheduled to be out of session next week, but Speaker McCarthy hopes to bring Members back with a potential vote as early as Tuesday.  

The House Energy and Commerce committee held a markup on Wednesday, the 24^th. The Committee passed several health-related bills, including H.R. 2544, the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Act, H.R. 3561, the PATIENT Act, H.R. 2666, the Medicaid VBPs for Patients (MVP) Act, H.R. 3284, the Providers and Payers COMPETE Act, and H.R. 3285, the Fairness for Patient Medications Act. The full list of bills and MC's markup summary can be found here and here, respectively.

The Biden-Harris Administration proposed a new rule that would increase transparency in prescription drug costs in the Medicaid program. The proposed rule would require drug manufacturers to provide more information about the cost of drugs covered by Medicaid and as well as implement drug price verification surveys. In addition, the proposed rule included new requirements for transparency in drug payment information to third parties. Read more about the proposal here.

 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded grants totaling more than $65 million to 35 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) health centers across the country to help address the high maternal mortality rate. Funds specifically target high-risk patients such as Black and American India/Alaska Native women. The innovations and improvements from this grant are a part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis. Find the official HHS release here. 

The Biden Administration and Congressional leadership plan to continue negotiations over the weekend on an agreement to avoid a default on the nation’s debt. Reports vary on the amount of progress made thus far, but as of this writing, tougher work requirements and permitting reform remain sticking points. However, it has been reported that an agreement has been made to raise the debt limit for two years with discretionary spending caps, not related to defense and veterans, for the same period of time. A rollback of IRS funding and a mechanism to incentivize Congress to pass all 12 annual appropriations bills have also been reported as part of the deal.

The House Energy and Commerce committee held a markup on Wednesday, the 24^th. The Committee passed several health-related bills. Among the proposed legislation is H.R. 2544 Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Act, which would allow for greater flexibility within the OPTN. Additionally, H.R. 3561 PATIENT Act, aims to increase hospital price transparency and lower costs. The committee also covered H.R. 2666, the Medicaid VBPs for Patients (MVP) Act, which would allow value-based payment arrangements as an alternative method to cover high-cost cell and gene therapies in Medicaid. Furthermore, H.R. 3284, Providers and Payers COMPETE Act, would require the HHS to evaluate horizontal and vertical consolidation by providers and payers when making payment rules. Lastly, the committee discussed H.R. 3285, Fairness for Patient Medications Act, which seeks to cap cost-sharing at the price paid by the insurer to protect patients from overpaying for drugs. The full list of bills can be found here. Mehlman Consulting’s markup summary can be found here. 

The Biden-Harris Administration has proposed a new rule that would increase transparency in prescription drug costs in the Medicaid program. The proposed rule would require drug manufacturers to provide more information about the cost of drugs covered by Medicaid and as well as implement drug price verification surveys. In addition, the proposed rule included new requirements for transparency in drug payment information to third parties. Read more about the proposal here.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded grants totaling more than $65 million to 35 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) health centers across the country to help address the high maternal mortality rate. Funds specifically target high-risk patients such as Black and American India/Alaska Native women. This announcement supports the HRSA’s work to improve maternal health and reduce disparities in maternal and birth outcomes. The innovations and improvements from this grant are a part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis. Find the official HHS release here. 

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions - Hearing