Week in Brief
Veterans’ Health: Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson Withdraws from Consideration to Lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) Releases Statement.
Opioids: House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Advances 56 Bills Aimed at Combating the Opioids Crisis.
Inpatient Rehabilitation: CMS Releases FY 2019 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRF) Prospective Payment System and Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) Prospective Payment System FY 2019 Proposed Rules.
Medicare/Medicaid: CMS Releases FY 2019 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Proposed Rules. House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) Makes Statement. HHS Secretary Alex Azar Issues Statement.
WHITE HOUSE UPDATE
Veterans’ Health: Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Phil Roe (R-TN) Releases Statement Concerning Remarks by President Trump Urging Congress to Give Veterans More Decision Making Power in With Regard to their Health Care.
Opioids: President Donald J. Trump Announces Prescription Drug Take Back Day, Scheduled for April 28.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Monday, April 23
Short-term Health Insurance: Forty-Seven Democratic and Independent Senators Send Letter Urging HHS, Treasury, and Labor Department to Halt Pending Rule on Short-Term Plans.
Tuesday, April 24
Veterans’ Affairs: Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Postpones Hearing to Consider the Nomination of Rear Admiral Ronny L. Jackson for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Mental Health: House Energy and Commerce Committee Publishes Press Release Highlighting Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act.
Opioids: Senate HELP Committee Unanimously Passes the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018. Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Delivers Opening Remarks. Ranking Member Patty Murray Delivers Opening Remarks.
Thursday, April 26
Veterans’ Health: Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman and its Subcommittee on Defense, Conducts Hearing to Review the FY2019 Budget Request for the Defense Health Program.
Gun Violence: Senate Judiciary Committee Introduces Legislation Expanding the Capacity of the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center to Study and Prevent Targeted Violence.
Innovation in Health Care: House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee on Health Holds Hearing on Innovation in Health Care. Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam (R-IL) Delivers Opening Statement.
Bioterrorism and Pandemics: Senate HELP Committee Members Release Bipartisan Discussion Draft to Combat Bioterrorism and Pandemics.
Drug Discounts: Congressman Bobby L. Rush (IL), Co-chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Healthcare Task Force and Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA), Member of U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Speak at a Congressional Briefing on the 340B Drug Discount Program.
Friday, April 27
Medicaid Work Requirements: Senators Send Letter to CMS and HHS Regarding American Indian and Alaska Native Exemption from Medicaid Work Requirements.
REGULATORY UPDATE
Monday, April 23
Opioids: FDA Announces Availability of Draft Guidance for Industry on “Opioid Dependence: Developing Depot Buprenorphine Products for Treatment.”
Medicare/Medicaid: CMS Releases Responses to CMS Center for Innovation’s “New Direction” Request for Information, Announces that Market-Driven Reforms will Focus on Patient-Centered Care.
Insurance Payment Models: CMS Issues Request for Information on Direct Provider Contracting Models, Sets Deadline for Friday, May 25.
Tuesday, April 24
Budget: FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb Delivers Testimony Before Senate Committee on Appropriations on FDA’s Fiscal Year 2019 Budget.
Wednesday, April 25
Opioids: HHS Secretary Alex Azar and Surgeon General Adams Praise Private Sector Support for Naloxone Advisory.
Neonatal Health: NIH-Funded Study Suggests that Anti-HIV Drug Combination Does Not Increase Preterm Birth Risk.
Health Care Delivery: U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Releases Report on CMS Innovation Center’s Health Care Models.
Thursday, April 26
Medicare/Medicaid: CMS Announces Changes to the Payment Adjustment for Low-Volume Hospitals and to the Medicare-Dependent Hospital (MDH) Program Under the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (IPPS) for FY 2018.
Autism: CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network Reports Higher Prevalence of Autism than Previously Estimated.
Kidney Health: HHS Announces Partnership With the American Society of Nephrology to Launch the Kidney Innovation Accelerator (KidneyX).
Medical Devices: FDA Requests Feedback on Draft Guidance Regarding Regulation of Multiple Function Device Products.
Friday, April 27
Seizure Treatment: HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Proniras Corporation of Seattle, Washington Partner to Develop New Treatment for Seizures Caused by Nerve Agents.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Health Resources and Services Administration
Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children
May 9, 2018, 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM
May 10, 2018, 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
National Institutes of Health
Committee Meeting: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
May 24, 2018 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM
National Institutes of Health, Neuroscience Center
6001 Executive Boulevard
Rockville, MD 20852
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.