The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for October 3-9.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.

Please note that most HHS and other health care-related agencies have indicated that they will not be announcing new policies, publishing proposed regulations, or updating their web sites during the current federal government shutdown.

Congress and the Shutdown

Today the Senate voted on separate Democratic- and Republican-led continuing resolutions (CRs) for the seventh time but again was unable to reach the 60-vote majority needed to pass a measure.  Once again, only three Democratic senators – Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), John Fetterman (PA), and Angus King (ME) – voted in favor of the Republican bill but five more Democrats are needed for the bill to pass.  Congressional leadership has yet to meet to negotiate on the extended health care subsidies that Democrats seek to include in the CR but a bipartisan group of rank-and-file senators has been meeting to find a path forward and it is widely expected that any agreement will have to be endorsed by President Trump if it is to overcome Republican objections.  With no agreed-upon compromise yet proposed, the sides remain entrenched.

Flight delays and cancellations due to a lack of TSA agents on the job have been the first signs of disruption caused by the shutdown.  October 15 is the next anticipated pain point, when more than a million active-duty military and civilians at the Department of Defense will not be paid absent congressional action.  There has been talk of stand-alone legislation to ensure that members of the military are paid during a shutdown but congressional leaders are concerned that such a move could remove sufficient pressure to end the shutdown.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
  • CMS has posted a notice explaining that the No Surprises Act’s Independent Dispute Resolution process continues despite the federal government shutdown and that parties should continue to submit their disputes.  Find that notice here.
  • With the lapse of authorization for Medicare’s Acute Hospital Care at Home program on October 1, CMS has posted a message clarifying how it will address certain aspects of that program, writing that:

During a potential lapse in government funding and authorization of this waiver, if a hospital is found to be out of compliance with the Physical Environment condition of participation (including Acute Hospital @ Home waivers that will no longer be waived), CMS—after receiving the survey—would make the hospital’s compliance with this requirement part of a “plan of correction.” (See 42 C.F.R. 488.28(a)) Typically, hospitals have 60 days to respond to CMS with an acceptable plan of correction.

Find that CMS notice and more about the Acute Hospital Care at Home program on the program’s web page.

Department of Health and Human Services/Office of the Inspector General
  • Many Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans have limited behavioral health provider networks and inactive providers, HHS’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found after a recent audit of such plans.  Learn more about what the OIG found and what it recommends to address this current shortcoming from this OIG report.
  • Medicare could have saved more than $300 million if bundled payment rates for opioid use disorder treatment services had reflected the services provided to Medicare patients, the OIG concluded after a recent audit that compared the bundled payments for these services with payment amounts that it calculated for individual opioid use disorder treatment services actually provided to enrollees during the corresponding episode of care.  Learn more about what the OIG found and the steps it recommended to correct this problem from this OIG report.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CDC has revised its adult and child immunization schedules to apply individual-based decision-making to COVID-19 vaccination and to recommend that toddlers receive protection from varicella (chickenpox) as a standalone immunization rather than in combination with measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination.  Individual-based decision-making allows for immunization coverage through all payment mechanisms, including entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and the Vaccines for Children Program and insurance plans regulated by the Affordable Care Act.  The decision reflects the September 18 recommendation adopted by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Learn more from this HHS news release.

Stakeholder Events

MACPAC – Commissioners Meeting – October 30-31

MACPAC’s commissioners will hold their next public meeting virtually on Thursday, October 30 and Friday, October 31.  An agenda and registration information are not yet available but when they are they will be posted here.

HHS/Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy – ASTP Annual Meeting – February 11-12, 2026

HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy will hold its annual meeting in Washington, DC on February 11-12, 2026.  The meeting will include in-person education and plenary sessions and networking opportunities for the health IT community.  The main stage plenary sessions will also be available for viewing online.  ASTP will soon post information on the meeting’s agenda, how to register, and how to reserve a hotel room through ASTP’s room block.  When it does, that information will be posted here.