This Week in Washington: Congress Comes Down to the Finish Line   Congress House Health Legislation On Sept. 21, the House Ways & Means Committee passed two bills to improve Medicare’s inpatient psychiatric facility payment system and add intensive inpatient program coverage for beneficiaries with mental health and substance use disorders who need it. The legislation would also direct HHS to conduct two outreach campaigns related to opioid treatment programs and behavioral health integration codes…

This Week in Washington: Congress Focuses on FDA User Fee Legislation, Telehealth and Continuing Resolution; Administration Issues Executive Order on Biomanufacturing Congress House House Passes Legislation to Streamline Prior Authorization in Medicare Advantage On Sept. 14, the House unanimously passed legislation by voice vote to streamline the Medicare Advantage prior authorization system. The vote came shortly after the Energy & Commerce health subcommittee unanimously passed a version of the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care…

This Week in Washington: The House and Senate return to face funding the government and other issues; the administration reverses for good the Trump-era “public charge” rule. Congress House Funding the Government Current funding for the federal government runs out on Oct. 1; Congress will need to do a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR). Currently being discussed in the House is a CR to run through Dec. 16. What is unclear is whether the CR will…

This Week in Washington: The Senate waits to see if budget reconciliation agreement has enough votes to pass. Congress House House Passes Three Healthcare Bills On July 27, the House of Representatives voted to pass three healthcare bills. Information on the bills and their content can be found below. The Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act (H.R. 623) would reauthorize the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research program, a pediatric research initiative at the National Institutes…

This Week in Washington: Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade and Rules in Becerra v. Empire Health Foundation Congress House House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health to Consider 11 Healthcare Bills On June 29, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on Health will consider 11 healthcare bills. The bills can be found below. H.R. 2007, the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act of 2021 H.R. 3773…

This Week in Washington: Supreme Court Rules in Favor of 340B Hospitals, FDA Approves COVID-19 Vaccines for Children Under Five Congress House House Veterans Affairs Committee to Hold Legislative Hearing on Healthcare Bills On June 22, the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills related to healthcare: H.R. 291, the VA COST SAVINGS Enhancements Act, H.R. 345, the Reproductive Health Information for Veterans Act,…

This Week in Washington: House Passes FDA User Fee Reauthorization Package   Congress House House to Consider the ARPA-H Act On June 20, the House will consider H.R. 5585, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health (ARPA-H) Act. The bill would establish ARPA-H, a new biomedical research agency, within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The bill would also require ARPA-H to coordinate with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Medicare…