This week (August 10-14)

Both the House and Senate are scheduled to be in recess this week. The House is scheduled to return August 31, while the Senate is scheduled to return in September. This Week in Health Policy will not publish while Congress is gone for the August recess.

Last week (August 3-7)

Congressional Highlights

Senate continuing resolution. On Sunday (August 2), the Senate released its own version of a continuing resolution (CR), which would extend federal government funding at current levels until December 11. Notably, the Senate bill includes a provision to rescind the Office of Management and Budget's Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance Proposed Rule, which, among other things, would revise the federal grantmaking process to establish a single set of requirements across federal agencies and increase political oversight by requiring senior political appointees to conduct a pre-issuance review of discretionary grants to ensure alignment with Administration priorities. The Senate is expected to take action on its CR this week before it adjourns for the August recess. However, at the time of publication a final vote on the Senate CR was still pending. If passed, the House, which passed its own CR in July, is unlikely to take action until it returns from August recess, which is currently scheduled for August 31. It is unclear if the Senate's provision repealing the OMB rule has enough support to pass in the House.

Senate confirms Erica Schwartz to lead CDC. On Wednesday (August 5), the Senate voted 51-44 to confirm Erica Schwartz, a former deputy U.S. Surgeon General, as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined Republicans in supporting her nomination. Schwartz has served as a rear admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and U.S. Coast Guard Chief Medical Officer and previously worked at UnitedHealthcare.

Senators introduce bipartisan 340B reform bill. On Wednesday (August 5), the Senate 340B Bipartisan Working Group introduced new legislation, called the SUSTAIN Act, to reform the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Among other things, the bill would end any 340B rebate models within one year of enactment, codify covered entities' ability to use contract pharmacies without restrictions on the number or location of the pharmacies, update the definition of a 340B patient, add new eligibility requirements for child sites, and increase annual reporting requirements for covered entities. The bill comes several weeks after Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and a House 340B Bipartisan Working Group unveiled their own 340B reform bills.

Administrative Highlights

HHS proposes to overhaul Head Start Program. On Thursday (August 6), HHS' Administration for Children and Families issued a proposed rule intended to reduce federal regulatory burden for head start programs by rescinding more than 1,400 regulatory provisions and shifting toward a state-by-state approach. Among other things, the rule would change several federal standards related to group sizes, classroom ratios, background checks and more to better align with local state early childhood education standards. HHS estimates the proposed rule would increase the number of slots for children by as many as 236,000 and save up to $2.2 billion. The rule is open for public comment through October 6.

CMS launches autism toolkit for states. On Tuesday (August 4), CMS launched a new Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Toolkit to help state Medicaid and CHIP agencies identify instances of fraud, waste, and abuse in ABA services provided to beneficiaries with autism.

CMS issues new OBBBA implementation guidance. Late last week, CMS issued a new guidance document to help states implement Section 71109 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which limits full Medicaid and CHIP benefits to certain eligible groups. The guidance says states must redetermine the immigration status of Medicaid beneficiaries by October 1 to comply with the law. It adds, "If a state cannot ensure their claiming practices comply" with the law by October 1, "the state must not submit" federal matching claims for potentially affected beneficiaries until the redetermination is completed or its federal funding "will be at risk."

Hearings, Markups, and Other Committee Activity

Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care held a hearing on "Building a Resilient Health Care Future with Biotechnology." On Tuesday (August 4), the Subcommittee heard from a panel of witnesses representing different segments of the biotechnology sector. During the hearing, there was bipartisan support for addressing the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance and the importance to US national security. Witnesses spoke of the need for additional incentives to support biotechnology development, particularly for antimicrobials.

Senate Budget Committee held a hearing on "Medicaid: The Reality." On Tuesday (August 4), the Committee heard from a panel of witnesses representing think tanks and academics on the fiscal future of the Medicaid program and the potential impacts of H.R. 1 on the program. During the hearing, Republicans criticized spending growth within the program and applauded H.R.1's Medicaid provisions for addressing fraud, waste, and abuse within the program. Meanwhile, Democrats strongly criticized the law, warning the provisions will result in coverage losses and provider closures.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a business meeting. On Thursday (August 6), the Committee voted 8-7, along party lines, to hold former National Institutes of Health official and top White House pandemic advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after Fauci declined to answer questions during a hearing last week. The vote now goes to the full Senate for consideration, where it would need Democratic support to reach the 60-vote threshold to end a filibuster, but Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY) indicated he would seek to refer the case directly to the Department of Justice.

Reports, Studies, and Journals

• Government Accountability Office: Public Health Preparedness: Experts Identified Actions to Improve Surveillance for Emerging Disease Threats. The report recommends HHS and other relevant federal agencies strengthen their ability to detect emerging infectious disease (EID) threats by improving collaboration across agencies, strengthening data quality and infrastructure, optimizing surveillance methods, and improving public messaging.
• HHS Office of Inspector General: Medicare Improperly Paid Physicians an Estimated $15.2 Million for Sacroiliac Joint Injections. The report estimates that Medicare improperly paid $15.2 million for 134,526 of 186,842 total sessions from October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024, and outlines three recommended steps to prevent future improper payments.