Congress returned to session this week after the midterm elections. While midterm election results for the 118^th Congress are not yet finalized, it was announced this week that Democrats will retain Senate majority in the next Congress, and Republicans will take control of the House.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced that she would not seek a leadership position in the 118^th Congress. Pelosi led House Democrats for more than two decades. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) also announced that he would not seek an elected leadership position in the 118th Congress. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell was re-elected to his leadership role in a vote of 37-10, with one abstention. He defeated Senator Rick Scott (R-FL). On Tuesday, House Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) won the GOP nomination for Speaker in a vote of 188-31, defeating his challenger Andy Biggs (R-AZ). McCarthy will not become Speaker officially until he receives at least 218 votes of the whole House in January.

Lawmakers have a hefty to-do list to wrap up the 117^th Congress. As a reminder, in late September, Congress passed a short-term funding bill to keep the federal government funded through December 16. Congress will need to pass an omnibus spending bill before the mid-December deadline when the current continuing resolution (CR) expires. Health policy issues that may make their way into the end-of-year spending bill include efforts to keep Medicaid programs financed in the five U.S. territories, extend pandemic-related telehealth flexibilities, extend the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver, and provide mothers with mandated Medicaid coverage in the 12-month postpartum period. Additionally, it is possible that Congress will act to further postpone pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) sequestration. Lawmakers may also take action to avert the 4.4% payment cut that Medicare providers will face on January 1 under the CMS 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS).

On Tuesday, the White House requested additional funding from Congress to provide support for COVID-19, Ukraine, and natural disaster recovery efforts. Shalanda Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), laid out the request in a blog post. Young wrote that there is an “urgent need” for additional COVID-19 funding to help prepare for the winter months when the virus spreads more quickly. The request comes as the Senate voted 62-36 to approve a joint resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency declared on March 13, 2020. The national emergency is separate from the Public Health Emergency (PHE), which HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra renewed in October.

On Wednesday, Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tom Carper (D-DE) introduced the PACE Part D Choice Act, which would allow seniors in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), to save an average of $972.03 per month on prescription drugs. PACE is a provider-based health plan for elderly people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. Additional information can be found here.

CMS announced that the improper payment rate for the Federally-facilitated Exchange (FFE) program was less than 1% for Benefit Year 2020, which the agency says highlights CMS’ “commitment to being responsible stewards of public funds.” A fact sheet can be found here.

Midterm election results for the 118^th Congress are not yet finalized, but it was announced this week that Democrats will retain Senate majority in the next Congress, and Republicans will take control of the House. In the meantime, Congress has returned to session to wrap up the 117^th term. Lawmakers have a hefty to-do list in the lame-duck session. As a reminder, in late September, Congress passed a short-term funding bill to keep the federal government funded through December 16. Congress will need to pass an omnibus spending bill before the mid-December deadline when the current continuing resolution (CR) expires. September’s CR included several health-related provisions, including a five-year extension of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) user fee agreements (UFAs) and several expiring Medicare provisions. Traditionally, there are policy “riders” that pass along with the FDA UFAs, however, no riders were included this time. It is anticipated there will be an attempt to pass some of them as part of the end-of-year spending bill. These riders include provisions to regulate in-vitro diagnostics and lab-developed tests, accelerate approval program reforms, reduce the cost of generic drugs, and promote greater diversity in clinical trials.

Leadership for 118^th Congress Begins Taking Shape

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced that she would not seek a leadership position in the 118^th Congress. Pelosi led House Democrats for more than two decades. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) also announced that he would not seek an elected leadership position in the 118th Congress. Shortly after Speaker Pelosi’s announcement, Representative Hakeem Jeffries announced his bid for House Democratic Leader with Reps. Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar also announcing their candidacy for Democratic Whip and Democratic Caucus Chair, respectively. Rep. Jim Clyburn is expected to remain in Leadership and run for Assistant Democratic Leader. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell was re-elected to his leadership role in a vote of 37-10, with one abstention. He defeated Senator Rick Scott (R-FL). On Tuesday, House Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) won the GOP nomination for Speaker in a vote of 188-31, defeating his challenger Andy Biggs (R-AZ). McCarthy will not become Speaker officially until he receives at least 218 votes of the whole House in January.

The White House is requesting additional funding from Congress to provide support for COVID-19, Ukraine, and natural disaster recovery efforts. Shalanda Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), laid out the request in a blog post published on Tuesday. Young wrote that there is an “urgent need” for additional COVID-19 funding to help prepare for the winter months when the virus spreads more quickly. Young stated that the Administration has repeatedly made it clear that more funds are needed for vaccines, therapeutics, and research. In early September, the Administration also requested additional COVID-19 funds from Congress, but such funding was never approved. The request comes as the Senate voted 62-36 to approve a joint resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency declared on March 13, 2020. The national emergency is separate from the Public Health Emergency (PHE), which HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra renewed in October. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) said that the resolution would not “affect critical flexibilities, such as the ones facilitating access to telehealth,” but would rather, “serve as the beginning of a productive and bipartisan effort to examine which mitigation efforts and flexibilities are worth embedding permanently into our lives, and which are no longer relevant or necessary.”

CMS announced that the improper payment rate for the Federally-facilitated Exchange (FFE) program was less than 1% for Benefit Year 2020, which the agency says highlights CMS’ “commitment to being responsible stewards of public funds.” Improper payments are generally overpayments or underpayments that do not meet CMS program requirements. CMS attributes most improper payments to “situations where a state or provider missed an administrative step.” A fact sheet can be found here.

On Wednesday, Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tom Carper (D-DE) introduced the PACE Part D Choice Act, which would allow seniors in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), to save an average of $972.03 per month on prescription drugs. PACE is a provider-based health plan for elderly people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. Currently, seniors in PACE are required to use PACE Part D coverage for all covered prescription drug costs, and monthly premiums for PACE Part D are over $1,000. This legislation would allow beneficiaries to choose their Medicare Part D plan, which could reduce monthly premiums to an average of $43 per month. Additional information can be found here.

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