CONGRESS IS BACK…FOR A FEW WEEKS

Congress is back from a long August recess. However, it is only back for a few weeks. During this window, there is only one major thing Congress must do: extend government funding past the September 30 deadline through a short-term continuing resolution (CR). This will be accomplished, but it will not be without drama along the way. The House Rules Committee is meeting this afternoon to consider Speaker Johnson’s six-month short-term CR proposal that also attaches the SAVE Act, which is a voter-ID-related bill, with the full House slated to vote on it this week. This proposal will not pass the Senate or be signed by President Biden. However, the goal is for the House to consider it quickly this week so that there is plenty of time for the Senate to respond with its proposal to fund the government through mid-December. Once this is all wrapped up, Congress will be out until after the election, and then negotiations begin for the lame duck package.

Even with all the noise surrounding government funding, the committees are hard at work. This week there are a multitude of healthcare-related hearings focusing a variety of topics, including the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act, ERISA, and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

This morning also brought the release of the Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act Final Rule. This rule enhances requirements to enforce mental health parity so that insurers cover mental health and addiction care on the same terms as other healthcare.

TODAY’S PODCAST

In this week’s Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss the multitude of upcoming congressional hearings and what they might mean for the lame duck session.