A Busy Week in Congress 

This week will be very busy on Capitol Hill. Six hearings will focus specifically on healthcare. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a legislative hearing to review 17 pieces of legislation focusing on transparency and competition in the healthcare system, that could have a significant impact on certain providers, plans and pharmacy benefit managers. The policies under consideration include introduced and non-introduced legislation. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and other stakeholders and academics will testify at the hearing. This work period is an important time to advocate to Congress on the content of these bills.

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability will hold a hearing on the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) and workforce shortages. The PRF supported healthcare providers in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government has allocated $186.5 billion in payments to be distributed through the PRF. The Health Resources and Services Administration, the agency that has distributed the funding, will testify during this hearing, which will likely focus on the distribution and use of the funding.

Also of note, the House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on tax exemptions in hospitals. Needless to say, this will be an important week in hearings for healthcare providers.

The House is also set to vote this week on a $4.5 trillion debt limit bill, the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which raises the debt limit into 2024 while also cutting federal spending by tens of billions of dollars.