11th Vote To Reopen Government Voted Down By Democrats
Senate Democrats voted against reopening the federal government for the 11th time Monday, making the government shutdown continue. The chamber voted 50-43 on the House-passed continuing resolution, which needed 60 votes to pass. The same three Democratic caucusing senators voted with Republicans and one debt-and-deficit-hawk Republican voting with Democrats.
At the same time, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD, said the government shutdown has dragged on for so long that the GOP-controlled House may need to come back to Washington to pass a new stopgap funding bill. There are just 4 weeks left on the measure passed by the House and failing in the Senate.
And Rep. Chip Roy, R-TX, floated the use of the “nuclear option” to end the shutdown and get around Senate filibuster rules that require a 60-vote majority to pass a bill. Thune opposes the idea. Thune is right on this.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration asserted it could lay off about 1,000 employees despite a judge’s ruling, but the judge weighed back in and barred it.
Additional articles: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5563802-thune-house-dc-government-funding-shutdown/ and https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/shutdown-tracker-cms-issues-billing-guidance-hhs-furloughs-32000-employees and https://thehill.com/homenews/5563484-senate-filibuster-republican-debate/
#governmentshutdown #congress #trump #healthcare #coverage
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5564176-government-shutdown-vote-senate
Mark Cuban’s Drug Company To Be On TrumpRx, Along With More Fertility Drugs
Mark Cuban’s online pharmacy Cost Plus Drugs will be participating in President Donald Trump’s drug price transparency tool, TrumpRx. Cuban made the announcement at the HLTH conference. He also took the chance to attack pharmacy benefits managers and drug wholesalers at a keynote speech. The Cigna Group and CVS Health said they will offer discounted infertility medications through TrumpRx, beginning in January 2026. The platform is part of the administration’s effort to reduce drug prices in America.
In other news, CNN has a good article on getting out in front of expected discounts on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. President Trump announced recently that he will get GLP-1s down to $150 from $1,000. That led Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz to jump in and say that the price has not yet been negotiated. Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, two big GLP-1 makers, said they have not finalized deals with Trump yet. But this could be Trump turning up the heat of brand drug makers just the same.
Additional article: https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/cigna-cvs-partner-with-trumprx-to-offer-fertility-drugs/ and https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/17/health/ozempic-trump-oz
#drugpricing #trump #cuban #cigna #cvshealth #trumprx
https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/mark-cuban-cost-plus-drugs-partner-trumprx/803180
HHS OIG Says Plans Misrepresent BH Networks
The Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) says Medicare and Medicaid health plans inaccurately list many mental health professionals as being available to treat the plans’ members. In a stunning indictment, the OIG says that some plans have set up “ghost networks” by listing psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals who do not have contracts, do not work at the locations listed, or are retired.
The report found that 55% of mental health professionals listed as in-network by Medicare Advantage (MA) plans were not. The figure was 28% for Medicaid managed care plans.
In other news, NerdWallet has a good checklist as open enrollment in MA opens.
Additional article: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5562031-medicare-open-enrollment-guide/
#mentalhealth #behavioralhealth #healthplans #medicareadvantage #medicaid #managedcare
Cassidy Goes After AMA On CPTs
Long a controversy on Capitol Hill on both sides of the aisle, HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, R-LA, once again is challenging the American Medical Association’s (AMA) monopoly on many clinical codes (CPTs) that are the backbone of medical coding in the healthcare system. Cassidy wants to know how much the AMA makes exclusively licensing the codes each year. Congress granted the AMA sole authority over medical billing codes in the 1980s.
#providers #physicians #medicalcoding #ama
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-regulation/mh-cpt-codes-bill-cassidy-ama
— Marc S. Ryan
