Week in Review
1332 State Waivers: CMS Releases Methods for Implementing 1332 State Waivers.
- Statement and Letter from House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and House Ways & Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA)
- Statement from Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR)
- Statement from Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray
- Remarks from Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray at Committee Hearing
- Statement from HHS Secretary Alex Azaar
WHITE HOUSE
Opioids: White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Deputy Director James Carroll Announces Grants for Community-Level Programs Combating Opioid Abuse.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Wednesday, November 28
Health Care Innovation: Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Reducing Health Care Costs by Improving Affordability through Innovation.
Health Care Efficiency: Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Releases Statement on Decreasing Health Care Costs through Private Sector Initiatives.
Marketplace Enrollment: House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ), House Ways & Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA), and House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) Release Statement on Enrollment Statistics.
Marketplace: CMS Develops New Tool Allowing Direct Enrollment in Exchange Plans without Redirection to HealthCare.gov.
Thursday, November 29
Veterans: The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Disability and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee Holds Hearing on the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Development and Implementation of Policy Initiatives.
Traumatic Brain Injury: Senate HELP Committee Holds Markup on S. 2076, S.___, Traumatic Brain Injury Program Reauthorization Act of 2018, H.R.315, S.3482, S.3530, and Nominations.
- Press Release from the Senate HELP Committee
- Statement from Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA)
Friday, November 30
Electronic Health Records: Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Releases Statement on Electronic Health Records and Cutting Health Care Costs.
REGULATORY UPDATE
Monday, November 26
Medicare: CMS Issues A Proposed Regulation to Address Prescription Costs for Medicare Parts C and D.
Medicare: CMS Issues Proposed Rule to Address Prescription and Out-of-Pocket Costs for Medicare Advantage and Part D.
Neurology: HRSA Releases Findings on Autism Prevalence among Children in the U.S.
Neurology: The National Eye Institute (NEI) Discovers Neurons Responsible for Perceiving the Presence of Objects.
Tuesday November 27
Medicare: CMS Releases Online Tool for Comparing Costs, Payments, and Copayments for Surgical Procedures in Medicare.
Wednesday, November 28
Federal Matching: DHHS Issues Notice of Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP), Enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (eFMAP), and Disaster-Recovery FMAP Adjustments Used to Determine Federal Matching for Various Programs, Including Medicaid, CHIP, and TANF.
Electronic Health Records: HHS Announces Winner of Software Design Competition Addressing Electronic Health Record Reporting Issues.
Electronic Health Records: HHS Issues a Draft Strategy on the Use of Health Information Technologies and Electronic Health Records.
- Press Release from HHS
Enrollment: CMS Releases Effectuated Enrollment Data for the First Half of 2018.
- CMS Releases Overview of the Fourth Week of Open Enrollment.
Thursday, November 29
Substance Abuse: FDA Issues Warning to E-Cigarette Companies for Nicotine Packaging Resembling Children’s Food.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health: CDC Director Robert Redfield Releases Statement on Data Showing a Decline in Life Expectancy, Largely Due to Drug Overdoses and Suicides.
Medicare: CMS Administrator Seema Verma Addresses the States and Nation Policy Summit of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Friday, November 30
Medicare: GAO Releases Report on New Medicare Payment Rate Methodology for Laboratory Testing.
Medicare: CMS Announces Change in Comment Period for Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs.
Medicare: CMS Issues Proposed Rule on Medicare Advantage and Part D to Lower Drug Costs.
Drug Pricing: HRSA Announces Change in Effective Date for 340b Drug Pricing Program Ceiling Price Implementation.
EVENTS
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Full Committee Hearing: Is VA Ready for Full Implementation of Appeals Reform
December 5, 2018 10:00 AM
334 Cannon House Office Building
The President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID)
Conference Call: Potential Topics of the Committee’s 2019 Report to the President
December 5, 2018 9:00 AM
FDA
Public Hearing and Request for Comments: Eliminating Youth Electronic Cigarette and Other Tobacco Product Use: The Role for Drug Therapies.
December 5, 2018 9:00AM – 5:00 PM
White Oak Campus, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Building 31, Great Room A
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002
Senate HELP Committee – POSTPONED TBD
Full Committee Hearing: FDA Oversight: Leveraging Cutting-Edge Science and Protecting Public Health.
December 5, 2018 Time TBD
430 Dirksen Senate Office Building
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Joint Hearing: Tracking Transformation: VA MISSION Act Implementation.
December 6, 2018 10:00 AM
HVC-210 – Capitol Visitors Center, House Side, Second Floor, Room 210
SAMHSA
Meeting: Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC).
December 11, 2018 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland