THIS WEEK’S DOSE

• Senate Judiciary Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Georgia Abortion Ban. The field hearing examined how Georgia’s abortion ban impacts women’s health, and featured patient and physician witnesses.
• Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on IRA. The hearing assessed how the Medicare drug provisions and extension of the enhanced advanced premium tax credits (APTCs) in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have impacted consumer costs and pharmaceutical innovation.
• Senate Judiciary Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee Holds Hearing on AI Oversight. Members and witnesses focused on balancing artificial intelligence (AI) regulation and innovation.
• House Energy & Commerce Committee Advances Healthcare Bills. The eight bills passed focus on Medicare telehealth flexibilities, Medicaid, the healthcare workforce, and rare diseases.
• House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Investing in Chronic Disease Prevention and Treatment. The hearing focused on the need for legislative solutions to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases.
• Congress Votes on Health-Related Legislation. The House passed several bipartisan bills, while in the Senate, a procedural vote to consider legislation protecting in vitro fertilization failed to reach the 60-vote threshold necessary to proceed.
• A Quiet Week in the Administration. Following last week’s publication of the mental health parity final rules, the Administration did not release any major rulemakings this week.

CONGRESS

Senate Judiciary Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Georgia Abortion Ban. The field hearing was held in Fulton County, Georgia, and featured a panel of patients and an OB/GYN. Subcommittee Chair Jon Ossoff (D-GA) was the only senator present. Discussion centered on how the Georgia abortion ban is causing significant health complications for women, particularly those with high-risk or nonviable pregnancies. Witnesses described the emotional and practical challenges of being denied appropriate care and explained how providers are reluctant or unable to offer the standard of care for patients because of a threat of criminal prosecution. The hearing followed a similar subcommittee field hearing in July 2024.

Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on IRA. The hearing focused on how the Medicare drug provisions and the extension of the enhanced APTCs in the IRA have impacted consumer costs and pharmaceutical innovation.

Democrats focused on how the IRA has lowered prescription drug costs for seniors and could encourage quicker drug development by shifting industry incentives. Republicans criticized the IRA for raising premiums, restricting beneficiary choices, and reducing drug research and development investment. Republicans also criticized the Biden Administration’s demonstration project to stabilize and lower Part D premiums, which they claim is politically motivated. Democrats advocated for extending the enhanced APTCs, while Republicans focused on the cost of these credits. Members of both parties encouraged Congress to advance bipartisan legislation on pharmacy benefit managers.

Senate Judiciary Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee Holds Hearing on AI Oversight. The hearing featured a panel of expert witnesses who spoke about the need for Congress to regulate AI. Members of both parties agreed that Congress must take bipartisan action to legislate against any potential harms of AI, while also encouraging innovation in AI technology. Members and witnesses expressed concern about a lack of transparency within the production of AI.

House Energy & Commerce Committee Advances Healthcare Bills. The markup advanced eight health-related bills that focus on Medicare telehealth flexibilities, Medicaid, the healthcare workforce, and rare diseases. Links to the discussed bills, amendments, and markup memo can be found here. Bills passed include:

• H.R. 7623, the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024, which would extend Medicare telehealth flexibilities for two years and the health at home program for five years.
  • Passed unanimously with a vote of 41 – 0.
• H.R. 3433, the Give Kids a Chance Act, which would extend the pediatric priority review voucher program for five years.
  • Passed unanimously with a vote of 43 – 0.
• H.R. 8107, the Ensuring Access to Medicaid Buy-In Programs Act of 2024, which would remove age restrictions on Medicaid eligibility for working adults with disabilities and includes a five-year demonstration for several states to cover home- and community-based services for individuals who do not require institutionalization.
  • Passed unanimously with a vote of 43 – 0.

Other bills related to nursing homes and nursing aid standards – including a disapproval resolution that would nullify the Biden Administration’s controversial final rule related to nursing home staffing requirements – passed along party lines, with Republicans voting in support and Democrats voting in opposition.

House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Investing in Chronic Disease Prevention and Treatment. The hearing focused on the need for legislative solutions to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases. Democrats highlighted the social causes of chronic diseases, including food deserts, while Republicans focused on the need to increase education and incentivize people to eat nutritious foods. Members of both parties expressed dissatisfaction with the prevalence of chronic diseases given the amount of money the US spends on healthcare. Witnesses highlighted how ultra-processed foods are contributing to chronic disease development and harming children.

Congress Votes on Health-Related Legislation. Several health-related bills were approved on the House floor under suspension of the rules, which is an expedited process for advancing broadly supported legislation. These bills included legislation related to Medicaid program integrity, telehealth, chronic disease coverage, and public health research and programs. The full list of bills and descriptions of each can be found here.

The Senate took a procedural vote to consider legislation protecting in vitro fertilization but failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to proceed. Senators Murkowski (R-AK) and Collins (R-ME) were the only Republicans to support the measure. The same bill – largely seen as a political messaging effort leading up to the elections – met a similar fate in June 2024. The bill and description of the vote can be found here.

QUICK HITS

• FDA Announces Digital Health Advisory Committee Public Meeting. The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the theme of the November 20 – 21, 2024, meeting will be “Total Product Lifecycle Considerations for Generative AI-Enabled Medical Devices.”
• CMS Announces QHP Directory Pilot. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), alongside Oklahoma, will develop a statewide, centralized directory of qualified health plans (QHPs). CMS touted this as the first step toward developing a National Directory of Healthcare. Read more on the consumer information and insurance oversight website.
• CMS Plans AI Demo Days. CMS released a request for information titled “Artificial Intelligence Technologies for Improving Healthcare Outcomes and Service Delivery,” which seeks to gather information about existing AI technologies in healthcare. Using the responses, CMS will invite organizations to participate in a series of CMS AI Demo Days to showcase their technologies. The deadline for submissions is October 7, 2024.
• HRSA Announces Funding for the Health Workforce. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awards to grow the health workforce total almost $100 million. The funding was announced in conjunction with a US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) health workforce roundtable. The press release can be found here.
• Health IT Awardees Announced. The HHS Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology announced $2 million in awards focused on improving data quality for responsible AI and accelerating adoption of behavioral health information technology.
• HHS Releases Progress Report on National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. The report provides an update on the implementation of the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers and finds that almost all actions to which federal agencies previously committed have been completed. The press release can be found here.
• CMS Holds Webinar on Maternal and Infant Health. The webinar provided an overview of maternal health outcomes in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and reviewed the affinity group goals, structures, and timelines as well as the Expression of Interest process.
• MACPAC Holds September 2024 Public Meeting. The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) agenda included sessions on recently published final rules, home- and community-based services, the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly Model, youth behavioral health residential services, managed care external quality review, justice-involved youth, and the hospital payment index technical expert panel. Slides and a transcript will be posted here.
• Congress Shows Support for Extending ACA APTC Subsidies. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) gathered 190 members of the House and Senate to write to congressional leadership urging timely action to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced APTC subsidies. The press release and each letter can be found here. While action is unlikely this year as the subsidies don’t expire until the end of 2025, this letter is a marker of the importance that many members of Congress place on this issue.

NEXT WEEK’S DIAGNOSIS

Congress is expected to be in session as lawmakers continue to seek an agreement on a short-term continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the month. Healthcare activity is anticipated at the committee level and on the House floor. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on reproductive healthcare, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a markup of two patent bills, the House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on the Administration’s Medicare policies, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee will hold a markup of several healthcare bills and hearings on GLP-1 drug prices and preparing workers for AI. Health-related bills placed on next week’s House suspension calendar include legislation related to disease research and treatment programs, organ transplantation, data accessibility, prescription drug competition, and Medicaid.