Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Chris JonesBy Chris Jones on Posted in Healthcare

Below is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session.

HOUSE TO VOTE ON BILL COMBINING ACA, DRUG PRICING PROVISIONS

The House is scheduled to vote on legislation Thursday that would package new funding for state-based marketplaces and enrollment outreach efforts under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), with provisions designed to lower prescription drug prices.

Some of the drug pricing provisions enjoyed bipartisan support when considered earlier this year in the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Judiciary Committee. But House Republicans aren’t expected to support the overall bill because of the ACA funding and provisions that would roll back the Trump administration’s plan to lower insurance premiums for healthier Americans, which Democrats have derided as “junk” insurance plans. Continue Reading

The Weekly Hill Update

Adam HigginsBy Adam Higgins on Posted in The Weekly Hill Update

Washington D.C. The capitol, the seat of the government of the United States.Below is the Federal Policy team’s weekly preview, published when Congress is in session.

HEADLINES

• The House will take up a legislative package aiming to shore up the Affordable Care Act and address prescription drug costs.

• President Donald Trump will host Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the White House.

• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Russia, where he will meet Tuesday with Vladimir Putin.

HOUSE

  • The House is in session Tuesday through Friday. The agenda includes a legislative package on health insurance and drug costs, as well as Democrats’ Equality Act.
  • Appropriations season is in full swing, as three subcommittees mark up fiscal 2020 spending bills.
  • The full list of this week’s House committee activity can be found here.

SENATE

  • The Senate will consider several Trump judicial nominees.
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday will hold a hearing on 5G network technology.
  • The current list of Senate committee activity can be found here.

WHITE HOUSE

  • Trump today will host the Hungarian prime minister at the White House.
  • Trump on Tuesday will tour a liquefied natural gas export facility and speak on energy infrastructure.
  • Pompeo is visiting Russia for the first time as secretary of state, and Tuesday he will meet with Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Chris JonesBy Chris Jones on Posted in Healthcare

Below is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session.

TRUMP, DEMOCRATIC LEADERS TO MEET ON DRUG PRICES

During a White House meeting last week on infrastructure policy, President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed to meet in the future to discuss drug pricing legislation.

A date for that meeting hasn’t been finalized, but Democrats aren’t waiting to move bills on drug prices.

House Democrats are teeing up legislation that would make it easier for generic drug manufacturers to gain access to brand-name drugs protected under the FDA’s high-risk safety program. Legislation ending “pay-for-delay” patent settlements also has been approved by a key healthcare committee. Continue Reading

The Weekly Hill Update

Adam HigginsBy Adam Higgins on Posted in The Weekly Hill Update

Below is the Federal Policy team’s weekly preview, published when Congress is in session.

HEADLINES

• Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is scheduled to visit Washington, but President Donald Trump’s Twitter threats to raise tariffs on Chinese imports could disrupt not only the meeting but also the markets today.

• Trump will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tiger Woods today.

HOUSE

  • The House is in session Tuesday through Friday. Democrats will take up supplemental appropriations legislation for disaster-stricken areas, including Puerto Rico.
  • The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday will hold a hearing on the drug supply chain.
  • The full list of this week’s House committee activity can be found here.

SENATE

  • The Senate will consider several Trump nominees, including two judges for the Second Circuit and board members for the Export-Import Bank.
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday will hold a hearing on pharmaceutical patents.
  • The current list of Senate committee activity can be found here.

WHITE HOUSE

  • Trump will host a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
  • Trump will attend a campaign rally in Florida on Wednesday.
  • Trump will host the 2018 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox on Thursday.

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Chris JonesBy Chris Jones on Posted in Congress, Healthcare

Below is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session.

DRUG PRICES: CONGRESS RETURNS, PICKS UP WHERE LAWMAKERS LEFT OFF

Congress reconvenes today after a two-week spring recess, with lawmakers in both parties continuing their focus on prescription drug prices.

House and Senate committees are planning a series of hearings and votes on drug pricing legislation, beginning Tuesday and going through at least June. The issue is also on the agenda at a White House meeting Tuesday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and President Donald Trump.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he’s working with the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on bipartisan drug pricing legislation that he hopes to introduce by mid-June. Continue Reading

The Weekly Hill Update

Adam HigginsBy Adam Higgins on Posted in The Weekly Hill Update

Washington D.C. The capitol, the seat of the government of the United States.Below is the Federal Policy team’s weekly preview, published when Congress is in session.

HEADLINES

• Congress returns this week from a two-week recess, with the House continuing to showcase Democrats’ legislative priorities and the Senate processing Trump administration nominees under new accelerated rules.

• President Donald Trump will meet with Democratic congressional leaders Tuesday to discuss infrastructure, prescription drug prices and other issues.

• A trade delegation led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will be in Beijing, as the United States and China continue work toward a trade agreement. Continue Reading

Recap: BakerHostetler’s 30th Annual Legislative Seminar

Peggy PetersonBy Peggy Peterson on Posted in Federal Policy

Last week, BakerHostetler celebrated the 30th anniversary of its Annual Legislative Seminar. This two-day premier policy showcase in Washington, D.C., allows clients to listen and interact firsthand with key members of the U.S. House and Senate. Led by Federal Policy team leader Mike Ferguson, the seminar featured senior lawmakers who shared a range of policy insights and perspectives.

The evening before the seminar, BakerHostetler hosted firm clients for dinner at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.  In honor of the 30th anniversary of this premier program, we were honored to welcome special guest, Vice President of the United States Mike Pence.

Vice President of the United States Mike Pence speaking at BakerHostetler’s 30th Annual Legislative Dinner

The next day, we hosted more than 300 clients for a discussion with a diverse group of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. Ferguson and fellow Senior Advisor Heath Shuler held candid “fireside chats” with their friends and former colleagues on key policy issues and politics.

View the Photo Gallery from the 30th Annual Legislative Seminar >>

Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Chris JonesBy Chris Jones on Posted in Congress, Federal Policy, Healthcare

Below is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session.

HOUSE PANEL TO VOTE ON BIPARTISAN DRUG PRICING MEASURE

The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday on legislation that contains several prescription drug pricing provisions, including requiring pharmacy benefit managers to disclose details of negotiated rebates and calling on drug manufacturers to justify price increases. Continue Reading

The Weekly Hill Update

Adam HigginsBy Adam Higgins on Posted in The Weekly Hill Update

Washington D.C. The capitol, the seat of the government of the United States.Below is the Federal Policy team’s weekly preview, published when Congress is in session.

HEADLINES

• Prescription drug costs will be back in the spotlight as the Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing focused on pharmacy benefit managers, and the House Ways and Means Committee takes up bipartisan legislation addressing drug prices.

• House Democrats plan to take up the Save the Internet Act before departing to Leesburg, Virginia, for a party policy retreat.

• The Senate will vote on several of President Donald Trump’s judicial and administrative nominees, after the Senate last week accelerated consideration of nominees. Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Chris JonesBy Chris Jones on Posted in Healthcare

Below is this week’s “Capitol Hill Healthcare Update,” which is posted on Mondays when Congress is in session.

REPUBLICANS BALK AT TRUMP’S CALL FOR NEW HEALTHCARE BILL

President Donald Trump last week said Republicans would introduce legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) after he called on federal courts to strike down the law, but GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill don’t want to renew a policy fight many believe cost them control of the House in 2018.

Congressional Republicans were dumbfounded when the Trump doubled down on his administration’s decision to ask a federal court in New Orleans to overturn the ACA by saying Congress could swiftly pass a new healthcare law. “The Republican Party will become ‘The Party of Healthcare!’ Trump tweeted last week. Continue Reading

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