Even though lawmakers will likely tackle most of their health care policymaking after the November election, Congress has plenty on its agenda before its August recess.
Many eyes are on Democrats returning to the Capitol this week for the first time since President Joe Biden’s debate performance, and they’re facing reporters asking whether Biden should stay in the race. As one lobbyist quipped to us, health care is “whispering, hoping to be heard in a hurricane.”
But they’ll also deal with appropriations for health care agencies and the future of telehealth in the Medicare program among other issues.
Here’s what to expect in the coming weeks:
Appropriations: Lawmakers will likely have to pass a stopgap spending measure to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September, but they’re moving forward on a number of appropriations bills impacting health care agencies.
The House Appropriations Committee is set to mark up the Labor-HHS-Education package after it advanced through a subcommittee on party lines last week. That bill would cut HHS’ fiscal 2025 budget by 7 percent, but it isn’t likely to become law in its current form, given opposition from Senate Democrats. The full committee will also mark up the Agriculture-FDA measure that advanced last month on party lines.
In the upper chamber, the Senate Appropriations Committee is slated to mark up the Agriculture-FDA package and the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies package on Thursday.
Telehealth: Legislation that would extend loosened virtual care rulesin Medicare for two years was supposed to get a full committee markup at the end of June, but it fell victim to tensions over an unrelated privacy bill that forced Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to cancel the markup.
The pandemic-era rules expire at the end of the year. Rodgers has said she hopes to advance a fully paid-for package before the August recess.
Pediatric rare disease priority review vouchers: Rodgers said last month that legislation to reauthorize the pediatric rare disease priority review voucher program remains a top priority. It was also supposed to be marked up late last month in the markup that was ultimately canceled.
The program intends to incentivize the development of treatments for rare pediatric diseases by speeding up the regulatory process and is set to expire at the end of September.
Congress’ race to recess
politico.com
July 10, 2024 1:51 pm
Even though lawmakers will likely tackle most of their health care policymaking after the November election, Congress has plenty on its agenda before its August recess.
Many eyes are on Democrats returning to the Capitol this week for the first time since President Joe Biden’s debate performance, and they’re facing reporters asking whether Biden should stay in the race. As one lobbyist quipped to us, health care is “whispering, hoping to be heard in a hurricane.”
But they’ll also deal with appropriations for health care agencies and the future of telehealth in the Medicare program among other issues.
Here’s what to expect in the coming weeks:
Appropriations: Lawmakers will likely have to pass a stopgap spending measure to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September, but they’re moving forward on a number of appropriations bills impacting health care agencies.
The House Appropriations Committee is set to mark up the Labor-HHS-Education package after it advanced through a subcommittee on party lines last week. That bill would cut HHS’ fiscal 2025 budget by 7 percent, but it isn’t likely to become law in its current form, given opposition from Senate Democrats. The full committee will also mark up the Agriculture-FDA measure that advanced last month on party lines.
In the upper chamber, the Senate Appropriations Committee is slated to mark up the Agriculture-FDA package and the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies package on Thursday.
Telehealth: Legislation that would extend loosened virtual care rulesin Medicare for two years was supposed to get a full committee markup at the end of June, but it fell victim to tensions over an unrelated privacy bill that forced Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to cancel the markup.
The pandemic-era rules expire at the end of the year. Rodgers has said she hopes to advance a fully paid-for package before the August recess.
Pediatric rare disease priority review vouchers: Rodgers said last month that legislation to reauthorize the pediatric rare disease priority review voucher program remains a top priority. It was also supposed to be marked up late last month in the markup that was ultimately canceled.
The program intends to incentivize the development of treatments for rare pediatric diseases by speeding up the regulatory process and is set to expire at the end of September.