This week (September 7-11)

Both the House and Senate will be in recess this week for the Labor Day holiday. Both chambers are scheduled to return on Monday, September 14 for a short session before they adjourn for October until after the midterm elections.

Note: This Week in Health Policy will not publish on Friday, September 11, during the congressional recess.

Last week (August 30-September 3)

Congressional Highlights

President Trump signs CR into law. On Wednesday (September 2), President Trump signed into law a continuing resolution (HR 6500) that funds the federal government at current levels through December 11. The bill passed the House 370-48 and the Senate 90-6. In addition to funding the government into December, the measure temporarily prohibits the Office of Management and Budget from finalizing the 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 agencies and require senior political appointees to conduct a pre-issuance review of discretionary grants to ensure alignment with Administration priorities. OMB in the proposed rule indicated it planned to issue a final rule that would be effective October 1.

Administrative Highlights

HHS awards $77 million for behavioral health and substance use services. On Monday (August 31), HHS, through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, announced $77 million in grant funding to strengthen substance use prevention and treatment, crisis services, mental health care, and suicide-prevention efforts.

HHS convenes symposium on children's screen use. On Tuesday (September 1), HHS hosted the Live Real Life Symposium focused on the harms of screen use in children and announced that health care providers can earn free accredited continuing-education credits through a partnership between the Office of the Surgeon General and the American College of Preventive Medicine.

CMS announces rural health fund investments. CMS made a series of announcements touting Rural Health Transformation Program investments in various states to improve rural health. Recent announcements have included investments in Hawaii, Arkansas, Georgia, Virginia, Indiana, Alabama, Alaska, South Dakota, and more. Projects include expanding medical transportation, emergency infrastructure, improving maternal care and mental health and substance use, advanced technologies, and more.

ICYMI: Health Care Highlights From August Recess

President Trump signs executive order on childhood vaccine recommendations. On August 10, President Trump signed an executive order directing changes to federal childhood vaccine recommendations, including reducing the number of diseases included in the core recommendation category from 17 to 11 and moving several into a new category of shared clinical decision-making. The order also directs HHS to work to make the MMR vaccine available as three individual shots and directs the Attorney General to challenge state laws that conflict with their obligations to provide religious and medical exemptions. On August 21, HHS issued a request for information to inform future vaccine recommendations and category assignments.

Senate confirms Erica Schwartz to lead CDC. On 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 (CDC). 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 US Coast Guard Chief Medical Officer and previously worked at UnitedHealthcare.

President Trump nominates Heidi Overton to lead FDA. On August 19, President Trump announced Heidi Overton as his nominee to be the next Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner. Overton, a deputy director at the White House Domestic Policy Council who is board-certified in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine, would replace former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary who resigned on May 12, after serving in the role for 13 months. The position requires Senate confirmation.

CMS touts actions to prevent lab-related fraud. On August 28, CMS announced that it has prevented more than $1.6 billion in potentially improper Medicare laboratory payments since the start of the Trump Administration. CMS said the enforcement actions taken to date have leveraged advanced analytics, such as AI and machine-learning models.

FDA seeks input on oversight of generative AI-enabled medical devices. On August 18, the FDA published a discussion paper, requesting feedback on risk assessment, premarket evaluation, post-market monitoring, and other regulatory considerations for generative AI-enabled medical devices.

NIH seeks input on proposed changes to reporting peer review outcomes. On August 14, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a request for information on proposed changes to its grant funding process. Under the proposed change, NIH would move away from reporting peer review overall impact scores and shift to reporting categorizations: "most competitive," "competitive," and "not discussed." NIH is accepting comments through October 13.

FDA proposes mandatory GRAS notifications. On August 11, the FDA issued a proposed rule that would require mandatory Generally Recognized as Safe ("GRAS") notification for food/ingredient safety determinations, moving away from the current voluntary framework. Under the rule, companies would be required to notify FDA of GRAS determinations for substances in their products. The rule is open for public comment through December 9, 2026.

Hearings, Markups, and Other Committee Activity

House Veterans Affairs Committee holds hearing titled "Beyond Go-Live: VA Electronic Health Record Modernization Status Update." On Wednesday (September 2), the Committee held a hearing on the VA's EHR modernization. During the hearing, members heard testimony from two panels of witnesses representing the VA and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). During the hearing, members from both parties expressed frustration with the roll out, raising questions about cost, patient safety, and more. The VA witnesses spoke favorably of the program, citing successful 2026 deployments, improved system stability, strong user support, better training approaches, and plans to complete deployment by 2031. However, the GAO witness echoed concerns about the cost estimate and integration schedule. The hearing concluded with a bipartisan vote to subpoena Oracle's CEO Mike Sicilia and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison to testify before the committee regarding the EHR modernization program.

Reports, Studies, and Journals

• Congressional Budget Office. Health Insurance Options for Small Businesses. The report provides an overview of the small-group health insurance market, including sources of coverage, enrollment numbers, and premiums. The report found nearly half of the employees at small businesses work for ones that do not offer a health insurance plan.
• Health Affairs. Spending On IDR Process Pushes No Surprises Act Costs To More Than $22.4 Billion Over Just Four Years. The analysis examines the No Surprises Act's independent dispute resolution process, finding it has contributed to an estimated $22.4 billion in total costs driven in part by a high volume of disputes and awards that exceeded expected in-network rates.