LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY UPDATE
Week in Brief
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) Announces that the House Will Vote on CHIP Legislation Next Week; Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) Announce an Agreement to Pair Affordable Care Act (ACA) Reforms with a Two-Year Funding Extension for Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSRs).
WHITE HOUSE UPDATE
October 26
Opioid Crisis: President Trump Issues a Statement on the Opioid Crisis, Declaring it a Public Health Emergency.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
October 23
Opioid Crisis: Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) Announces Legislation to Allow Medicare Beneficiaries to Access Opioid Addiction Treatment Medication in Outpatient and Physician Settings.
October 24
ACA: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) Announce an Agreement to Pair Structural ACA Reforms with a Temporary Two-Year Funding Extension for Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSRs).
Hurricane Response: The House Energy and Commerce Committee Holds a Hearing Entitled Examining HHS’ Public Health Preparedness for and Response to the 2017 Hurricane Season. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Vice Chairman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) Issue Opening Statements. Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) Delivers Opening Remarks.
Veteran’s Affairs: The House Veteran’s Affairs Health Subcommittee Holds a Hearing on Several Veterans Health Issues, Including H.R. 1133, The Veteran’s Transplant Coverage Act of 2017.
October 25
Health Care Stabilization Act: Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) Release a Statement on the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) Report on the Health Care Stabilization Act of 2017.
Opioid Crisis: The House Energy and Commerce Committee Holds a Hearing Entitled Federal Efforts to Combat the Opioid Crisis: A Status Update on CARA and Other Initiatives. Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) Delivers Opening Remarks.
ACA: Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Issue a Written Report by the HHS Inspector General Containing Results from an Investigation into the Trump Administration’s Decision to Pull ACA Advertisements during the 2017 Open Enrollment Period.
Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSRs): Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) Calls for a Vote on the Murray-Alexander Bill Following Court’s Ruling that Trump is Not Required to Fund CSRs.
October 26
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP): House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) Announces that the House Will Vote on CHIP Legislation Next Week.
Opioid Crisis: Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) Issue Statements on the Trump Administration’s Public Health Emergency Declaration on the Opioid Epidemic. Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI) Issue a Statement. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Health Subcommittee Chairman Michael Burgess (R-TX) Issue a Statement. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) Also Issues a Statement.
Contraception: Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Holds a Press Conference on President Trump’s Actions Regarding Birth Control Access.
Therapy Caps: House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) Announce that They Have Reached a Policy Agreement on a Permanent Repeal of the Annual Limit on Therapy Caps in Medicare with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Who Also Issue a Statement.
REGULATORY UPDATE
Department of Health and Human Services
October 25
Faith-Based Organizations: HHS Invites Comment from Faith-Based Organizations and Other Interested Parties on Identifying and Removing Barriers to Allow Participation in HHS-funded or Regulated Programs.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Congressional Hearings
Senate HELP Committee
Implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act: Achieving the Promise of Health Information Technology
• October 31, 2017 | 2:30p.m.
430 Dirksen Senate Office Building
House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs
Markup of Pending Legislation
• November 2, 2017 | 10:00a.m.
334 Cannon House Office Building
For more information about this issue of Power Play: Washington Week in Review or more legislative and regulatory updates, contact the Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville Government Relations and Public Policy group at (202) 466-6550.