Week in Brief
Government Funding: The House of Representatives and the Senate Pass a Continuing Resolution to Fund the Federal Government through December 22nd. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Health Subcommittee Chairman Michael Burgess (R-TX) Issues a Statement. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ-11) Issues a Statement. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Issues a Statement.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
December 4th
CHIP: The House of Representatives Announces that it Will Consider a Continuing Resolution that Includes a Short-Term Technical Adjustment to Address State Funding Issues Associated with CHIP.
December 5th
Opioids: The Senate Appropriations Committee Holds a Hearing Entitled Addressing the Opioid Crisis in America: Prevention, Treatment & Recovery. Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Senate Appropriations Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Issue Opening Statements.
December 6th
Tax Cuts & Jobs Act: Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) Delivers a Statement on the Senate Floor Before the Vote to Go to Conference with the House on the Republican Tax Plan. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also Issues a Statement on the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act.
Contraception: Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) and Others Issue a Letter to Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Eric Hargan Regarding Birth Control Coverage under the ACA.
Veterans’ Health: The House of Representatives Passes Legislation to Authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to Contract with Non-Profit Organizations that Accredit Health Care Organizations to Investigate VA Medical Centers. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Phil Roe (R-TN) Issues a Statement.
December 7th
Government Funding: The House of Representatives and the Senate Pass a Continuing Resolution to Fund the Federal Government through December 22nd. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Health Subcommittee Chairman Michael Burgess (R-TX) Issues a Statement. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ-11) Issues a Statement. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Issues a Statement.
21st Century Cures Act: The Senate HELP Committee Holds a Hearing Entitled Implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act: Progress and the Path Forward for Medical Innovation. Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Issues an Opening Statement.
CHIP: The House of Representatives Passes H.J. Res. 123, Providing a Short-Term Technical Adjustment to Address Temporary Funding for CHIP.
REGULATORY UPDATE
Department of Health and Human Services
December 6th
Fraud: GAO Issues Report, Medicare and Medicaid: CMS Needs to Fully Align Its Antifraud Efforts with the Fraud Risk Framework.
Health Care Spending: CMS Office of the Actuary Publishes National Health Expenditures in 2016.
December 7th
Digital Health Tools: FDA Announces Guidance Documents: Clinical and Patient Decision Support Software (Draft), Changes to Existing Medical Software Policies Resulting from Section 3060 of the 21st Century Cures Act (Draft), and Software as a Medical Device: Clinical Evaluation (Final).
Department of Veterans Affairs
December 6th
Community Care: VA Secretary David Shulkin Issues a Statement on Congressional Efforts to Enact Permanent Community Care Legislation.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Congressional Hearings
Senate HELP Committee
The Cost of Prescription Drugs: An Examination of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Report “Making Medicines Affordable: A National Imperative”
• December 12, 2017 | 10:00a.m.
430 Dirksen Senate Office Building
House Energy & Commerce Committee
Examining the Concerns of Patient Brokering and Addiction Treatment Fraud
• December 12, 2017 | 10:15a.m.
2322 Rayburn House Office Building
Senate HELP Committee
Implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act: Responding to Mental Health Needs
• December 13, 2017 | 10:00a.m.
430 Dirksen Senate Office Building
House Energy & Commerce Committee
Examining the Drug Supply Chain
• December 13, 2017 | 10:00a.m.
2123 Rayburn 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.