Congress

Health Care Workers May Get Relief From New H-1B Visa Fee

A bill newly introduced in the House would provide relief to non-U.S. born health care workers from the $100,000 fee for H-1B visas that was introduced by executive order last year. Under the Physicians and Healthcare Workforce Act, health care workers from other countries would not be required to pay the new $100,000 visa fee to emigrate to and work in the U.S. In introducing the measure, the bill’s bipartisan sponsors noted that the $100,000 visa fee will only exacerbate the current shortage of doctors and other health care workers. Learn more about the bill and its sponsors’ reasons for [...]

joe2026-03-18T12:27:54-04:00March 19, 2026|Congress|

Federal Health Policy Update for March 12

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 6-12. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress While the House was in recess this week, the Republican caucus held its annual retreat to discuss legislative priorities. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) continues to push for another reconciliation bill, hoping to revisit several proposals to reduce Medicaid spending that were not included in HR another rank-and-file Republicans have expressed doubt that this will be possible. Both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be in session next week. The House Committee on [...]

joe2026-03-12T16:09:44-04:00March 12, 2026|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid managed care, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Rural Health Transformation Plans Face Pushback

In states across the country, legislators, hospital and health care groups, and others are objecting to the plans their state governments submitted to the federal government for how they would like to spend Rural Health Transformation funds – plans that federal regulators have already approved. In Colorado, Michigan, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming, legislators have even threatened to withhold the enabling legislation needed to spend the federal money. One of their primary objections is that the approved Rural Health Transformation program plans, consistent with federal guidelines, focus on innovation in the delivery of rural health care and do not help [...]

joe2026-03-04T12:23:38-05:00March 5, 2026|Congress, hospitals|

Federal Health Policy Update for February 12

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for February 6-12. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House announced the launch of TrumpRx, a service that will enable consumers to purchase a limited number of discounted prescription drugs directly from the manufacturers of those drugs and in some cases from pharmacies without the benefit of health or prescription drug insurance. Learn more about TrumpRx and its launch from this White House announcement, an accompanying fact sheet, and the TrumpRx web site. Congress Following passage of [...]

joe2026-02-12T16:12:39-05:00February 12, 2026|340b, Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for February 5

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 30 through February 5. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress On Tuesday Congress passed, and the president immediately signed, a package of appropriations bills that, among other government operations, funded the Department of Health and Human Services for the rest of federal FY 2026. Major provisions include: The extension of telehealth flexibilities through the end of 2027. The elimination of $8 billion cuts in Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) allotments to the states for both FY 2026 and FY [...]

Demise of Enhanced Tax Credits Drives Lower ACA Plan Enrollment

The end of enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act health plans has led to a five percent decrease in the number of people who enrolled in ACA plans during the open enrollment period that ended on January 15. According to federal data, about 23 million Americans signed up for such plans this year, down 1.1 million from last year – a significant decline, although not as great as predictions that enrollment could fall as much as 30 percent. Because of the loss of the enhanced premiums tax credits, insurance premiums doubled for some applicants, putting them out of the [...]

joe2026-01-29T15:49:01-05:00February 2, 2026|Affordable Care Act, Congress|

Federal Health Policy Update for January 29

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 23-29. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The Senate today failed to advance a package of the remaining six FY 2026 appropriations bills, including funding for the Department of Health and Human Services. Democratic senators continue negotiating with the White House on how to proceed with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding, including the possibility of separating the DHS bill from the broader appropriations package and making targeted amendments to that measure. The Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies bill, [...]

joe2026-02-02T08:58:43-05:00January 29, 2026|Affordable Care Act, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for January 22

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 16-22. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House today passed an Appropriations Committee FY 2026 partial spending proposal that includes a Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill. Policy highlights include: Telehealth. The bill would extend the major Medicare telehealth flexibilities and the waiver of periodic in-person visits for mental health telehealth services through the end of 2027. Medicaid DSH. The bill would cancel the FY 2026 and FY 2027 cuts of $8 billion a year and leave just one year, [...]

joe2026-01-22T17:37:45-05:00January 22, 2026|Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, post-acute care, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for January 8

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 29 to January 8. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress Congress returned from winter recess facing a full policy agenda and health care issues remain prominent. Following the expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits, the House is expected to vote on a three-year clean extension brought by a discharge petition from Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jefferies (D-NY). The Senate is unlikely to advance the measure but a bipartisan group of senators is developing an alternative: [...]

joe2026-01-08T15:32:32-05:00January 8, 2026|340b, Congress, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for December 18

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 12-18. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress In a 216-211 vote yesterday, the House passed the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, a Republican package aimed at addressing multiple health care policies. The legislation includes provisions for employee tax-advantaged benefits like HSAs and FSAs, cost-sharing reductions (CSR) subsidies, and increased transparency requirements for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). It notably did not include an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that many of the [...]

joe2025-12-18T16:29:43-05:00December 18, 2025|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Affordable Care Act, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|