LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY UPDATE
Week in Brief
House GOP Releases American Health Care Act (AHCA), Legislation to Repeal and Replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
WHITE HOUSE UPDATE
March 10
White House Publishes “President Trump’s First 50 Days of Action: Achieving Results for the American People.”
White House Publishes “ICYMI: ‘The American Health Care Act Is a Good Start.’”
March 11
Vice President Mike Pence Participates in Listening Sessions on the American Health Care Act.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
March 6
House Energy & Commerce Committee Republicans and House Ways & Means Committee Republicans Release Statements on the AHCA.
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) Issue Statements Regarding GOP Unveiling of ACA Repeal Legislation. House Energy & Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Ways & Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) Release Joint Statement on GOP bill.
House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) Hold Press Conference Regarding the AHCA.
House Energy & Commerce Committee Releases Report Entitled, Obamacare Oversight: 112-114th Congress.
House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) Co-author Opinion Piece for Wall Street Journal on Plan to Repeal and Replace ACA.
March 7
Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Issues Statement on AHCA.
House Budget Committee Ranking Member John Yarmuth (D-KY) Issues Statement on AHCA.
Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) Delivers Speech on Senate Floor Regarding AHCA.
Senate Special Committee on Aging Democrats Release Fact Sheet, “The Affordable Care Act: Health Coverage for 50- to 64- Year Olds.”
House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT) to Meet with President Donald Trump to Discuss Lowering Prescription Drug Costs.
House Education & the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) Delivers Speech on Floor Explaining How GOP Is Working to Improve Healthcare Through the AHCA.
March 8
House Energy & Commerce Committee Holds Markup of Committee Print “Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Repeal and Replace of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”. Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) Publishes His Opening Remarks.
House Ways & Means Committee Holds Markup of Budget Reconciliation Recommendations to Repeal and Replace the ACA Through the AHCA. Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) Publishes His Opening Remarks.
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Holds Hearing Entitled, Hearing on Saving Lives Through Medical Research. Chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO) Issues Statement. Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Releases Statement.
House Committee on Education & the Workforce Approves the Small Business Health Fairness Act (H.R. 1101), the Self-Insurance Protection Act (H.R. 1304), and the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (H.R. 1313). Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC); Congressman Phil Roe (R-TN); and Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) Issue Statements Upon Conclusion of Markup. Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) Issues Statement.
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) Releases Letter Sent By Former CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt on January 10, 2017 Detailing How Repeal of the ACA Would Threaten Solvency of Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund.
Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) Reintroduce Legislation to Help Protect Seniors from Loophole in Medicare Policy Regarding High Medical Costs for Skilled Nursing After Hospitalization.
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN) and Mike Coffman (R-CO) Release Statements Regarding Secretary Shulkin’s Objective to Expand Mental Health Care Services.
House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) Deliver Statement During Markup of Budget Reconciliation Recommendations to Repeal and Replace Obamacare.
March 9
House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) Releases Statement Upon Approval of the AHCA by Committee.
REGULATORY UPDATE
Department of Health and Human Services
March 7
HHS Secretary Tom Price Sends Letter to House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) Supporting ACA Repeal and Replace Efforts.
HHS Outlines Phases to the ACA “Repeal and Reform Effort.”
March 8
CMS Posts FAQ Document on the Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice (MOON).
March 10
HHS Secretary Tom Price Issues Statement Promising HHS Will Use “Its Regulatory Authority to Create Greater Flexibility in the Medicaid Program for States.”
OTHER UPDATES
March 7
GAO Publishes Report, Veterans’ Health Care: Preliminary Observations on Veterans’ Access to Choice Program Care.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Congressional Hearings/Markups
SENATE
Veterans’ Affairs Committee
GAO’s High Risk List and the Veterans Health Administration
• March 15 | 2:30 p.m.
Russell Senate Office Building SR-418
Washington, DC 20002
Special Committee on Aging
Grandparents to the Rescue: Raising Grandchildren in the Opioid Crisis and Beyond
• March 15 | 2:30 p.m.
Dirksen Senate Office Building 562
2nd St NE
Washington, DC 20002
HOUSE
Ways & Means Subcommittee on Human Resources
Reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program
• March 15 | 10 a.m.
1100 Longworth House Office Building
1 Independence Ave SE
Washington, DC 20003
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.