Posted in Healthcare
Senate Democrats recently introduced the Stop Price Gouging Act (S. 378), which seeks to place an excise tax on pharmaceutical companies in proportion to price spikes on prescription drugs.
The bill generally requires a company to justify to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) any spike in prescription drug prices, but it is short on details regarding the criteria the inspector general of DHHS would have to abide by when analyzing the spike.
Posted in Congress, Healthcare, Medicaid
Below is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session. Highlights this week: shutdown risk increases as talks stall; Gottlieb’s Hill testimony postponed; more bills targeting drug prices introduced; hearing focuses on bolstering ACA; and more. Continue Reading
Posted in The Weekly Hill Update
Below is the Federal Policy team’s weekly preview, published each week when Congress is in session.
HEADLINES
• Negotiations over border security legislation have stalled, casting doubt on government funding beyond this week.
• Both the House and Senate floor agendas are fluid, as lawmakers previously expected votes on a funding bill.
• The United States and China are continuing work toward a potential deal to end their trade war, with delegations meeting in Beijing this week.
Posted in Healthcare
Below is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session. Highlights this week: Trump will discuss healthcare and drug costs in this week’s State of the Union address; Democrats criticize HHS’ drug rebate proposal; dueling hearings highlight the ACA’s pre-existing conditions; House Democrat reveals her cancer is in remission; and more.
Posted in The Weekly Hill UpdateBelow is the Federal Policy team’s weekly preview, published each week when Congress is in session.
HEADLINES
• Delayed because of the partial government shutdown, President Donald Trump will deliver the State of the Union address on Tuesday.
• Congressional negotiators continue to discuss border security legislation as they seek to avert another government shutdown.
• House committees are filling the week with hearings promoting Democrats’ agenda, including on gun control, healthcare, climate, and oversight of the Trump administration.
Posted in The Weekly Hill UpdateBelow is the Federal Policy team’s weekly preview, published each week when Congress is in session.
HEADLINES
• Furloughed federal employees are returning to work for at least three weeks after President Trump signed a short-term funding bill to allow lawmakers time to negotiate on an immigration and border security package.
• A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He will visit Washington for talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, which officials believe will be critical to a potential opportunity to relieve trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
• Committees on both sides of the Capitol plan Tuesday hearings focused on prescription drug prices.
Posted in HealthcareBelow is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session. Highlights this week: With the shutdown over (for now), the FDA is back in business; two hearings spotlight drug prices; House GOP questions CMS on Medicaid managed care; and more.
Posted in Financial Services
In the wake of bipartisan criticism from Congress over sweeping new accounting rules for the banking industry, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is hosting a roundtable discussion today on its controversial current expected credit loss (CECL) rules.
Many financial institutions – and several members of Congress – have called on FASB to delay implementing the new standard, citing its impact on credit availability and affordability as well as the added burden on financial institutions. One lawmaker is proposing to pause CECL implementation while studying its unintended consequences.
Posted in Federal Policy, HealthcareBelow is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session. We’re posting on Tuesday this week because of the Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday. Highlights this week: Gottlieb warns FDA’s funds running low as shutdown continues; House Dems launch sweeping probe on drug prices, Senate approves Medicaid measures, and more.
Posted in The Weekly Hill UpdateBelow is the Federal Policy team’s weekly preview, published each week when Congress is in session.
HEADLINES
• Congress is in session this week after both chambers canceled their scheduled recess week amid the ongoing partial government shutdown, now more than a full month in length.
• Both chambers are focused on political messaging bills: The House will take up appropriations legislation that would reopen unfunded agencies; the Senate plans to debate a package modeled after President Donald Trump’s weekend proposal to trade three years of protection for immigrants brought to the United States as children for border wall funding.
• World leaders are gathering in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum; Trump canceled his attendance amid the shutdown.
