/>iReconciliation Hits a Speedbump
This week will not be what was anticipated on Capitol Hill. Multiple committees, including the House Energy and Commerce Committee, reportedly had planned to spend this week marking up their reconciliation packages. However, after internal meetings with moderate Republicans and President Trump last week, it became clear that Speaker Johnson and Energy and Commerce leaders were facing speedbumps on the road to enacting the Medicaid reforms at the savings levels they had developed. Their markup has been delayed, and the new plan is for it to occur the week of May 12. Internal conversations will continue this week among Republicans on what the Energy and Commerce reconciliation package should include, with continued debate on Medicaid taking center stage, although energy and spectrum auction policies within the committee’s jurisdiction are also in the mix. Republicans may also turn to healthcare policies besides Medicaid to address concerns within the party and by President Trump surrounding Medicaid. Of course, the House could also choose to adjust the target of $880 billion in savings for the Energy and Commerce Committee, but they’re trying to avoid that.
The Agriculture Committee postponed its reconciliation markup of policy changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) until next week. The proposals were designed to shift some of the SNAP costs to states – hitting state budgets and the same population as the proposed Medicaid policies. The Ways and Means Committee also delayed its markup until at least next week, as it seeks to obtain the scoring necessary to complete its policies and faces ongoing differences on key provisions. These delays may complicate Speaker Johnson’s plan to complete reconciliation in the House and Senate before the Memorial Day holiday. There is no magic around a Memorial Day deadline, however; if it slips, the work will move into June. The real deadline won’t be known until the US Department of the Treasury releases its estimate for when the federal government will hit the debt limit ceiling. If Republicans want to address the debt limit in reconciliation, that date will become the hard deadline. Current estimates indicate that the date will be in late summer or early fall.
Meanwhile in the Senate, health committees will focus on additional US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) nomination hearings. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing for James O’Neill, nominated for deputy HHS secretary, and Gary Andres, nominated for HHS assistant secretary for legislation. Later this week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will consider Janette Nesheiwat, MD, nominated for surgeon general, along with O’Neill’s nomination.
On Friday, President Trump released his “skinny” budget proposal for fiscal year 2026. It includes a 26% cut in discretionary funding for HHS, including a $18 billion cut from the National Institutes of Health and a $3.6 billion cut from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Congressional hearings with agency leaders on the budget proposal begin this week, and Secretary Kennedy is scheduled to testify about the budget proposal at the Senate HELP Committee on May 14. It will be his first appearance before Congress as secretary. Additional focus will likely be on the agency’s response to the measles outbreak and more broadly on vaccine development. There may also be significant questioning regarding HHS restructuring and its impact on health programs that individual senators may be concerned about.
Today’s Podcast
In this week’s Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss the delay of key reconciliation markups, including at the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and what comes next.
