This week (June 8-12)

Both the House and Senate are in session this week.

House Appropriations Committee will hold a mark up of Fiscal Year 2027 bill for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.

• Date: Tuesday, June 9 at 11am ET
• More information available here.

House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a legislative hearing on "Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: Examining Policies to Increase Health Care Transparency."

• Date: Wednesday, June 10 at 10:15am ET
• More information available here

Last week (June 1-5)

Congressional Highlights

Reconciliation 2.0. The Senate early Friday voted 52-47 to approve the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reconciliation bill (S. 2). The vote was mostly along party lines, though Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined Democrats in voting against the measure. The House is expected to take up the bill next week. The "vote-a-rama" of limitless amendment votes began Thursday morning and included several failed health care measures, including an amendment by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) to have the Senate Judiciary Committee investigate insurance claim denials. Conversations are continuing about a potential third reconciliation bill that could include health care provisions, but the outlook is unclear at this point.

Administrative Highlights

President Trump signs new executive orders. This week, President Trump signed several new executive orders impacting health care:

• AI: On Tuesday (June 2), President Trump signed an executive order that calls for the creation of a framework for voluntary testing of frontier AI models with advanced cyber capabilities. Among other things, the EO directs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) director to issue guidance within 30 days that could give rural hospitals and other critical infrastructure entities access to frontier AI cybersecurity tools.
• Federal workers. On Wednesday (June 3), President Trump signed an executive order to reschedule 8,000 career federal employees into a new category, "Schedule Policy/Career." The change enables federal agencies to more readily remove individuals for poor performance or for not following presidential directives. The order largely affects senior officials with significant influence over policy, including NIH officials.
• Childhood vaccines. On Friday (May 29), President Trump signed an executive order that directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to review an HHS assessment of childhood immunization recommendations in the United States compared to other nations. The order instructs ACIP to "take any appropriate steps to update the United States childhood and adolescent vaccine schedule."

Supreme Court sides with generic drugmaker in patent case. On Thursday (June 4), the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Hikma's new generic version of Amarin Pharma's cardiovascular medication Vascepa did not infringe on Amarin's patents. In the lawsuit, Amarin alleged that the generic drugmaker violated patent protections by carving out the patented use of a name brand drug from its label while seeking regulatory approval for non-patented uses, known as a "skinny label."

FDA releases draft guidance on cell and gene therapies. On Tuesday (June 2), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance that aims to allow cell and gene therapy developers to use publicly available information, including chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) data, nonclinical study results and clinical information, to streamline regulatory submissions. Comments are due by September 1.

CMS issues Medicaid work requirements interim final rule. On Monday (June 1), CMS issued an interim final rule that provides instructions to states on how to implement the Medicaid work requirements enacted as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The rule defines who qualifies for exemptions, including individuals who are pregnant or postpartum, caregivers for a dependent child or disabled individual, participants in a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program, or those considered medically frail. However, the rule does not list conditions, diseases, or disabilities that would classify as medically frail. Instead, it defines the term as an individual whose physical, mental, or other behavioral health condition significantly impairs the individual's ability to comply with the work requirements — a definition that will likely reduce the number of people who will qualify for the exemption. The rule states that for 2027 individuals can self-attest to being medically frail but beginning in 2028 they will require additional documentation. In addition, CMS said it may grant states a temporary good-faith-effort exemption from compliance with timely implementation of work requirements if they face extreme barriers to implementation. The rule is effective July 31, and stakeholders have until that date to submit comments. Click here for a fact sheet. Click here for a press release.

HHS releases Federal IDR Operations final rule. On Thursday (May 28), the Department of Health and Human Services, through CMS, the Department of Labor and the Department of the Treasury (the Departments) and the Office of Personnel Management issued a final rule that aims to strengthen and improve the No Surprises Act's independent dispute resolution (IDR) process by updating standards for payers; providers, including providers of air ambulance services; and certified IDR entities that participate in the IDR process. Broadly, the rule is aimed at reducing administrative burden, lowering barriers to participation, and accelerating the dispute resolution process by improving transparency, standardizing data and communications, and streamlining eligibility and operational requirements. It does not make changes to the qualifying payment amount (QPA) calculation or information that a certified IDR entity must consider in making a payment determination. Click here for a fact sheet. Click here for a press release. For more information, see our full alert: WCEY Alert - Trump Administration issues Final Rule updating No Surprises Act's Independent Dispute Resolution Process.

OMB proposes overhaul of federal grants framework. On Friday (May 29), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a proposed rule, Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance, aimed at modernizing and standardizing government-wide policies governing grants, cooperative agreements, and other forms of federal financial assistance. Broadly, the rule seeks to strengthen federal oversight and alignment with administration priorities by expanding agency authority to terminate or suspend awards, enhancing reporting and justification requirements for recipients and subrecipients, and increasing transparency across the grant lifecycle. Key provisions would prohibit use of funds for certain activities (e.g., DEI-related programming and specified policy areas), eliminate fixed-amount awards in favor of cost-reimbursement structures, expand Buy America requirements, and require senior political review of discretionary awards prior to issuance. Comments are due July 13, 2026.

Hearings, Markups, and Other Committee Activity

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on "Protecting Our Children: Exposing the Dangers of Irreversible Gender Transition Procedures on Minors." On Wednesday (June 3), the Committee heard from a panel of witness representing advocates who object and support gender transition care in minors. During the hearing, Republicans and their witnesses spoke of the government's role in protecting children with many voicing support for a ban on minors' access to gender-affirming care, while Democrats and their witness said the topic should be addressed by a parent and their child without involvement from the federal government.

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a task force hearing on "Universal Basic Fraud: Vulnerabilities in Medicaid Waiver Programs." On Wednesday (June 3), the Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses heard from a panel of witness representing the media and the state of Ohio on the state's Medicaid HCBS program. During the hearing, Republicans and witnesses raised concerns that lax oversight in Medicaid can result in widespread fraud, particularly in HCBS programs. Democrats spoke in favor of accountability and oversight but spoke against Medicaid cuts, which they said would harm vulnerable populations.

House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet held a hearing "Medicines and IP: Balancing Innovation and Access." On Thursday (June 4), the Subcommittee held a hearing to examine how to balance robust patent rights with greater access to affordable medicines, like generics and biosimilars, to sustain the United States' innovative edge in today's environment. During the hearing, members heard from a panel of witnesses representing lawyers, and experts in IP and innovation. Republicans spoke of the need for strong patent protections to prevent manufacturers from moving business overseas. There was bipartisan agreement that prescription drug affordability is a top priority for Americans and that patent protections are essential to maintaining US leadership in innovation. However, some witnesses noted that patent protections can present obstacles to generic drugs entering the market and the need to find the right balance.

House Appropriations Labor-HHS Subcommittee held a mark up of Fiscal Year 2027 bill for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. On Friday (June 5), the Subcommittee voted 11 to 7 in a party line vote to advance an appropriations bill that provides $110.8 billion to HHS, a 4% or $4 billion cut from the FY 2026 enacted level. The bill would provide a funding increase to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, at $48.8 billion. The bill now moves to the full committee, which is scheduled to debate it on June 9.

Reports, Studies, and Journals

• Government Accountability Office: Electronic Health Records: Better Goals and Measures Would Improve Interagency Cybersecurity Collaboration. The report concluded that the Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization office does not fully follow leading practices for collaboration between federal agencies and offers two recommendations.
• HHS Office of Inspector General: CMS Potentially Overpaid Medicare Advantage Organizations $462 Million Based on Certain Unsupported Acute Stroke Diagnosis Codes. The report found examined high-risk acute stroke diagnosis codes submitted to CMS by MA organizations were not supported by medical records and recommends CMS implement a procedure to prevent overpayments to MA organizations related to these codes.