Articles and Blogs

Lawmakers in Washington have reached an agreement on a legislative package that will provide $900 billion in COVID-19 relief and approximately $1.4 trillion in government funding in 2021. Highlights of the health care-related provisions include $3 billion more for the Provider Relief Fund, suspension of the Medicare sequester for the first three months of... READ MORE

Passage of Temporary Funding Bill Ends Potential Shutdown Just hours before the previous short-term agreement was set to expire on November 21, President Trump signed a bill funding the government through December 20. This measure gives Congress four additional weeks to reach a consensus on how to fund the government in FY 2020. The... READ MORE

Talk Is Cheap: Funding Negotiations Stall as Spending Deadline Approaches This week, the Senate had planned to begin deliberations on a legislative package that includes funding for the Department of Health and Human Services for fiscal year (“FY”) 2020. However, when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) offered the motion needed to begin the debate,... READ MORE

HHS Previews 2019 Regulatory Agenda At a symposium on Tuesday, Deputy HHS Secretary Eric Hargan and CMS Administrator Seema Verma outlined the administration’s health care strategy for 2019, which includes advancing the use of technology, adjusting payments in rural areas and testing new ways to reward high-quality care and reforms to the Stark and... READ MORE

Congress Passes Two-Week Stopgap Funding Measure On December 6, Congress passed a continuing resolution that extends current funding for select federal agencies for two weeks. The extension became necessary after the services for former President George H.W. Bush halted almost all legislative activity on Capitol Hill this week. Lawmakers will now have until December... READ MORE