Government Shutdown Looms with Stop Gap Failure In House
A government shutdown now looms as the budget funding saga plays out. This week President-elect Donald Trump, a number of his incoming aides, and a set of rightist House Republicans came out against a bipartisan stop gap that would have funded the government through March 14 and extended the debt limit until January 2027.
The House GOP has just attempted to pass a skinny continuing resolution (CR), which stripped out a number of things on the healthcare front and still funded disaster aid. The House Democrats opposed the refinements and fewer spending initiatives. The bill needed two-thirds to pass due to the inability to put the bill through the rules committee. At about 7:00 PM tonight the bill failed, with all but two Democrats opposing. The bill would not have passed under regular order, either. About three dozen conservatives opposed the bill as too rich because $100 billion in disaster was not offset with spending cuts.
We will learn tomorrow what will be done if anything to avoid a government shutdown set to begin at 11:59 PM Friday. Trump did urge the House GOP to support the skinny CR given the debt extension.
The skinny CR eliminated PBM reforms and pulled back on a number of healthcare issues previously included. It extends Medicare telehealth flexibilities and hospital at home waivers until March 31, 2025. A temporary Medicare physician rate increase for doctors was eliminated too, which means the 2.8% reduction would go into effect.
Additional article: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5049676-house-republicans-drop-pbm-reform/
#congress #crs #governmentshutdown #healthcare #pbms
Trump Will Be Active On Regulatory Front On Day One
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to be busy on the regulatory front on his first day. It is expected that he will stop the further processing of draft healthcare rules. In some cases, new drafts will be issued for comment. And the Congressional Review Act, where Congress strikes down recent regulations on the outgoing administration, could be used as well.
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#regulations #healthcare #trump
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/policy/donald-trump-healthcare-regulation-policy-executive-orders
Better Medicare Alliance Urges CMS To Reconsider VBID Termination
Advocacy group Better Medicare Alliance (BMA) is urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Servies (CMS) to reconsider its decision to terminate the Medicare Advantage (MA) Value Based Insurance Design (VBID) at the end of 2025. BMA says it will have consequences for the almost 9 million seniors and people with disabilities who rely on key services through VBID and disrupt care. BMA says the VBID program allowed plans to tailor benefits to address beneficiaries’ unique needs and facilitated innovative approaches to care delivery, including targeted interventions for individuals with chronic conditions, improved access to supplemental benefits, and programs addressing social determinants of health.
Given liberalization of some supplemental benefits globally, at least some of the targeted services will be available in other ways. CMS says it suspended the program due to costs. The agency is under pressure for its huge number of different pilots that are administratively expensive and have dubious results.
#vbid #medicareadvantage #supplementalbenefits #healthplans
Experts Lay Out Rationale For Continuing Health Equity
With the imminent return of Donald Trump as president, many are predicting health equity initiatives are in jeopardy. Fierce Healthcare talked to some experts who laid out some reason health equity is good for healthcare.
#healthequity #healthcare #medicareadvantage #partd #trump #cms #hhs
FDA Removes Tirzepatide From Shortage Status
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removed Tirzepatide, the active ingredient used in Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, from its shortage list today. It did give compounders and outsourcing facilities a grace period to stop compounding the drug through February 18 or March 17. Compounders are suing the FDA over the issue. Semaglutide shortage could end soon as well. Compounders argue that their ability to compound goes beyond fulfillment for shortages.
Additional article: https://insidehealthpolicy.com/daily-news/blow-compounders-fda-says-tirzepatide-no-longer-shortage
(Some articles may require a subscription.)
#weightlossdrugs #glp1s #drugpricing #branddrugmakers #fda
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5048430-fda-mounjaro-off-shortage-list-review
Centene Says GA Will Create Major Continuity Issues in Medicaid
Centene is complaining that Georgia’s Medicaid contract awards could mean three in four Medicaid recipients in the state have to switch plans. Georgia’s Medicaid agency awarded Medicaid managed care contracts to Humana, CareSource, Molina and UnitedHealthcare on Dec. 2. Centene, which currently holds a contract, did not receive a new contract. Centene could challenge the result.
#medicaid #managedcare #healthplans #ga
Life Expectancy Rises
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says life expectancy rose last year to its highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, death rates fell for almost all the top causes. Life expectancy at birth was 78.4 years for the total U.S. population in 2023, an increase of nearly a full year from 77.5 years in 2022.
#healthcare #quality #lifeexpectancy
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5048902-cdc-life-expectancy-death-rates
— Marc S. Ryan
