Congress

Federal Health Policy Update for August 21

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for August 15-21. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House and Senate are in recess and will return to Washington D.C. on September 2. Funding for the federal government expires on September 30, as will a number of health care extenders, including for telehealth flexibilities, the Acute Hospital Care at Home program, the Medicare-dependent hospital and low-volume hospital programs, and delays to Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) allotments. In the fall, Congress is considering pursuing health care legislation along two [...]

joe2025-08-21T14:43:11-04:00August 21, 2025|Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, COVID-19, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare cuts, Medicare reimbursement policy, post-acute care, Telehealth|

Potential Implications of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

The publication Health Affairs has published a number of newsletters and articles about the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill and its potential implications for consumers and providers. To learn more, see the following pieces: “The BBB: Consumer Choice and Market Competition” “The Budget Bill’s Impact on Immigrant Access to Health Care” “The 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' Now Law, Does Not Protect Rural Hospitals” “With Budget Reconciliation Bill Enacted, Health Care Changes Loom” “The Big Beautiful Bill: A New Era for Health Policy? w/ Katie Keith” “Trump's Deregulation Era & The Big Budget Reconciliation's Health Care Impact w/ Katie Keith” Subscriptions [...]

joe2025-08-19T15:27:30-04:00August 21, 2025|Congress, hospitals|

Federal Health Policy Update for August 7

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for August 2-7. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House and Senate are both in recess. When Congress returns in September its top priority will be funding the federal government before the fiscal year ends on September 30, likely requiring a continuing resolution to avoid a shutdown. Several major health care programs and extenders are set to expire at the end of the fiscal year, including Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) allotments, telehealth flexibilities, the Acute Hospital Care at Home [...]

joe2025-08-07T15:29:33-04:00August 7, 2025|340b, Congress, COVID-19, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

The Coming Medicaid Work Requirement

Among the many Medicaid-related aspects of the recently enacted FY 2026 budget reconciliation bill – the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – is a new requirement that much of the Medicaid population be employed or participate in some acceptable form of “community engagement.” But how will the work requirement work? How will it be implemented and enforced? KFF has taken an in-depth look at this matter, reporting on such issues as: What the new law requires. The timeline for the work requirement’s implementation. How much money the states and the federal government stand to save by ending Medicaid How many [...]

joe2025-08-05T17:24:07-04:00August 6, 2025|Congress, Medicaid|

The New Rural Health Fund

Recognizing that the Medicaid and other health care cuts in the recently enacted FY 2026 budget reconciliation bill – the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill – will exact a heavy toll on rural hospitals, Congress included in that bill a short-term Rural Health Fund designed to help ameliorate the impact of some of the cuts it was adopting. KFF Health has taken a closer look at the Rural Health Fund, how it is structured, and how it is expected to work and has identified some of the bill’s major components. They include: The rural health fund includes $50 billion, which [...]

joe2025-07-23T10:30:29-04:00July 23, 2025|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, hospitals, Medicaid|

OBBB Implementation Timeline

DeBrunner & Associates has prepared a timeline presenting the timeline showing the stages through which the FY 2026 federal budget reconciliation bill (the “One Big Beautiful Bill”) will be implemented. Find it here.

joe2025-07-17T15:53:25-04:00July 21, 2025|Congress, Medicaid, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|

The Potential Impact of the Senate’s Proposed Medicaid Cuts

After the House passed its FY 2025 budget reconciliation bill the Senate took up its own bill, with the Senate Finance Committee proposing more than $800 billion in Medicaid cuts through a combination of reduced future Medicaid provider taxes, new limits on state directed payments made through Medicaid managed care plans, new Medicaid work requirements, more frequent redetermination of Medicaid eligibility, a shorter period of retroactive eligibility for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and more. The Senate continues to debate these proposals, with some members believing they are necessary and appropriate and others arguing that they would have [...]

joe2025-06-25T12:53:57-04:00June 26, 2025|Congress, Medicaid|

Federal Health Policy Update for June 19

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for June 13-19. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The Senate Finance Committee The Senate Finance Committee has released its portion of the FY 2025 budget reconciliation bill. Major proposals include: A freeze on the size of Medicaid provider taxes, phased down reductions of current taxes toward a new, lower limit for many states, and new terms under which provider taxes can be approved. New limits on the use of Medicaid state directed payments so they eventually will not exceed 100 [...]

joe2025-06-19T16:17:10-04:00June 19, 2025|Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for June 5

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for May 30 to June 5. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress Congress returned to Washington D.C., where Republican senators continue to work on their version of a reconciliation bill with a goal of passage by the full Congress by July 4. Some Senate committees have begun releasing their portions of the bill but the committees with jurisdiction over Medicaid – the Finance and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committees – have not committed to a timeline for their bills. [...]

joe2025-06-05T16:50:48-04:00June 5, 2025|Congress, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for May 15

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for May 9-15. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress: Reconciliation House Energy and Commerce Committee Charged with finding $880 billion in federal spending cuts over the next ten years, the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week produced legislative language to be included in a House reconciliation bill that would achieve that objective. The committee’s cost-cutting provisions include: Freezing state Medicaid provider taxes at their current level, prohibiting the establishment of new provider taxes, modifying the criteria CMS uses to determine [...]

joe2025-05-15T17:19:56-04:00May 15, 2025|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, deficit reduction, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare cuts, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|