This Week (June 9-13)

Both the House and Senate will be in session this week. The Senate will continue work on reconciliation bill, while the House may take up the White House's recissions package. Several health-related committee hearings also are scheduled.

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on "A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the National Institutes of Health."

• Date: Tuesday, June 10 at 10am ET
• More information available here.

House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on "Strengthening Domestic Manufacturing and the Health Care Supply Chain."

• Date: Wednesday, June 11 at 10am ET
• More information available here.

House Appropriations Committee will hold a markup of "FY 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill."

• Date: Wednesday, June 11 at 10am ET
• More information available here.

House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

• Date: Wednesday, June 11 at 10am ET
• More information available here.

Last Week (June 2-6)

Congressional Highlights

Reconciliation update. The Senate returned from recess and began work on the House-passed reconciliation bill (HR 1), which extends Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions expiring at the end of 2025, provides border security funding, and cuts mandatory spending, including through Medicaid and Affordable Care Act (ACA) changes. Unlike the House, Senate committees of jurisdiction are not expected to hold markups, and instead, will release language, updating the House-passed bill within their jurisdiction. The new language would then be offered on the floor as an amendment to the House version. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation released its section of the bill that updates the House's artificial intelligence (AI) provisions to remove the 10-year ban on state AI regulation and restricts state eligibility for AI development grants to those that do not enforce state laws regulating AI. Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) said the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, taxes, and the Affordable Care Act, could release its language as soon as next week. Majority Leader Thune has said he aims to have a modified bill on the floor the week of June 23, 2025, with the goal of getting a final bill to President Trump for his signature by July 4, 2025.

Scalise introduces White House's $9.4B recissions package. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) introduced the White House's recissions package, which asks Congress to claw back $8.3 billion in foreign aid, including global health aide, and $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting. Congress has until July 18 to pass the package or the White House will be required to spend the funding as currently required by law. The House could vote on the bill as soon as Tuesday. The bill would then have to pass the Senate where some Republican members, such as Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), have raised concerns about the size of global health cuts and cuts to specific programs such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Senate confirmations. On Thursday (June 5), the Senate voted 52-43 to confirm Jim O'Neill as deputy secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). O'Neill has experience in various roles at HHS and served as principal associate deputy secretary of HHS before moving to the private sector where he has worked in investment funding and in the biotechnology sector at the Theil Foundation and the SENS Research Foundation.

House passes SUPPORT Act. On Wednesday (June 4), the House voted 366 to 57 to pass the SUPPORT Act (HR 2483), which would reauthorize funds for substance use disorder programs. The bill now goes to the Senate.

House Oversight Democrats probe MAHA Report. On Monday (June 2), House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Stephen Lynch (D-MA) sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. requesting information on whether HHS used AI to write the recently released MAHA report, citing errors in the scientific studies referenced. Rep. Lynch asked for responses by June 16, 2025.

Administrative Highlights

CMS rescinds Medicaid SOGI data guidance. On Thursday (June 5), CMS rescinded guidance from 2024 that aimed to help states collect sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) information in Medicaid applications. The recission states that CMS will no longer collect this data.

CMS issues RFI on hospital price transparency. On Wednesday (June 4), CMS published a request for information on hospital price transparency and the agency's updated guidance, which requires hospitals to post payer-specific standard charges as dollar amounts in their machine-readable files (MRFs) whenever calculable. CMS is accepting public comments through July 21, 2025.

CMS rescinds EMTALA abortion guidance. On Tuesday (June 3), the Trump administration rescinded guidance issued in 2022 that interpreted EMTALA as providing protection to health care providers who perform emergency abortion in states that ban the procedure.

CMS unveils digital health priority initiatives. On Tuesday (June 3), CMS announced digital health priority initiatives, including building a national provider directory, modernizing the Medicare provider verification process, expanding CMS' Blue Button 2.0 patient access API, broadening access to CMS' Data at the Point of Care program, and engaging deeper in trusted data exchange.

NIH issues RFI on AI strategy. On Tuesday (June 3), NIH issued a request for information to help shape the agency's AI strategy, highlighting the need for a unified AI framework to address program silos, improve transparency, and accelerate research and development. Responses will be accepted through July 15.

FDA launches new AI tool. On Monday (June 2), the FDA announced the launch of a generative AI tool, named Elsa, to help FDA employees work more efficiently. FDA said the tool is already being used to "accelerate clinical protocol reviews, shorten the time needed for scientific evaluations, and identify high-priority inspection targets."

Court Highlights

Staff layoffs: On Tuesday (June 3), seven former HHS employees filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia that claims that the personnel files used to justify firings was flawed. The lawsuit states that many HHS employees fired during the April 2025 reduction in force could be eligible to join the class action lawsuit.

FDA allows ruling on LDT rule to stand. The FDA allowed a 60-day window to appeal a lower court's ruling to strike down a May 2024 final rule giving the FDA the authority to regulate laboratory developed tests (LDT) to lapse without response. The lack of action means the lower court's ruling will stand and the FDA will not have regulatory oversight over LDTs. The Trump administration has not issued a public statement on LDTs or whether it would support legislation, such as the VALID Act, that would require the FDA to regulate LDTs and other in vitro diagnostics.

ICYMI: Health Care Highlights from the Memorial Day Recess

HHS removes COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children, pregnant women. On May 27, HHS Secretary Kennedy, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children and pregnant women. The announcement came ahead of an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting in June to make final recommendations on the fall vaccines.

CMS increases oversight on Medicaid for non-citizens. On May 27, CMS send a letter to states clarifying that Medicaid coverage is only available to non-US citizens who meet all Medicaid eligibility requirements for emergency medical treatment. CMS said it would increase oversight to ensure Medicaid funds are used for eligible individuals.

CMS Innovation Center adjusts and extends KCC model. On May 28, the CMS Innovation Center updated the Kidney Care Choices (KCC) Model to adjust financial methodology and participation options beginning in performance year 2026, including removal of the incentive bonus for kidney transplants. The center also extended the model through 2027.

Hearings, Markups, and Other Committee Activity

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on "Reauthorization of the Over-the-Counter Monograph Drug User Fee Program." On Wednesday (June 4), the Committee held a hearing on the Over-the-Counter (OTC) Monograph drug user fee program and heard testimony from Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, acting director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. During the hearing, Democrats expressed support for OTC drugs but raised concerns about the impact FDA workforce reductions could have on operations. Republicans, including Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) spoke of the need to accelerate the transition from prescription drugs to OTC medications, other Republicans also spoke of the need to improve oversight of foreign facilities. Dr. Corrigan-Curay committed to working with Congress on the issues.

• More information available here.

House Appropriations Subcommittee held a markup of "FY 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill." On Thursday (June 5), the Subcommittee voted along party lines to advance a FY 2026 funding bill that sets the FDA's budget a $6.79 billion, in line with the White House's budget request. Compared with FY 2025, the bill would lower appropriations for FDA's drugs and biologics centers, while increasing appropriations for food and medical devices. During the markup, Democrats strongly pushed back against the funding cuts.

• More information available here.

Reports, Studies, and Journals

• Congressional Budget Office: Estimated Budgetary Effects of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The report estimates that the House-passed reconciliation bill would add over $2.4 trillion to the federal deficit over a decade. CBO also estimated that President Trump's tariff policies in effect as of mid-May would help reduce US fiscal deficits by $2.8 trillion.
• Congressional Budget Office: Estimated Effects on the Number of Uninsured People in 2034 Resulting From Policies Incorporated Within CBO's Baseline Projections and H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The report projects that the health policies in the House-passed reconciliation bill would increase the number of uninsured by 10.9 million people with an additional 4.2 million people losing coverage if the ACA's enhanced subsidies expire at the end of 2025.
• Government Accountability Office: Public Health Preparedness: HHS Needs a Coordinated National Approach for Diagnostic Testing for Pandemic Threats. The report recommends that HHS develop and periodically update a national diagnostic testing strategy for infectious diseases and establish a national testing forum that convenes regularly.