Washington Healthcare Update – Lexology

This week in Washington: Budget reconciliation package passes and is signed into law; Becerra’s nomination for HHS secretary advances in the Senate.

Upcoming Hearings/Markups

Congress 

House

Senate

Administration

Proposed Rules

Courts

Reports

Upcoming Hearings/Markups

March 17

House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee Hearing: “Leading the Way Forward: Biden Administration Actions to Increase COVID-19 Vaccinations” 10:00 a.m. For more information, click here.

Senate Finance Committee Hearing: “A National Tragedy: COVID-19 in the Nation’s Nursing Homes” 10:00 a.m. Witnesses include: John Dicken, Director of Health Care, Government Accountability Office R. Tamara Konetzka, Professor of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago David Gifford, Chief Medical Officer, the American Health Care Association For more information, click here.

March 18

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Hearing: “Examining Our COVID-19 Response: An Update from Federal Officials” 10:00 a.m. Witnesses include: Anthony Fauci, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases David Kessler, M.D., Chief Science Officer for COVID Response at the Department of Health and Human Services Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration Rochelle Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) For more information, click here.

House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Hearing: “COVID Outbreaks and Management Challenges: Evaluating the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Pandemic Response and the Way Forward” 2:00 p.m. Witness: Michael Carvajal, Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons For more information, click here.

House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Health Hearing: “Beyond Deborah Sampson: Improving Healthcare for America’s Women Veterans” 2:00 p.m. For more information, click here.

March 23

House Financial Services Committee Hearing: “Oversight of the Treasury Department’s and Federal Reserve’s Pandemic Response” 12:00 p.m. For more information, click here.

March 24

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee Hearing: “The Pandemic and VA’s Medical Supply Chain: Evaluating the Year-Long Response and Modernization” 2:00 p.m. For more information, click here.

Congress

House

House Passes Final Budget Reconciliation Bill

On March 10, the House passed the final version of the Senate budget reconciliation bill. One Democrat voted with the Republicans, who were united against the bill. President Biden signed the bill into law on March 11.

Medicare Sequester Moratorium

The House of Representatives will take up an extension of the Medicare sequester moratorium next week. The House Rules Committee will meet Tuesday to consider the Rule for H.R. 1868, legislation to prevent across-the-board direct spending cuts. Providers had attempted to include the extension in the final version of the American Rescue Plan but were ultimately unsuccessful. The sequester moratorium extension had been included in previous pandemic relief packages that…