This Week in Washington: Senate Finance Committee reports out Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs and Extenders Act; Senate confirms NIH Director; House Speaker Proposes Laddered Continuing Resolution.

Congress

House

House Speaker Proposes Laddered Continuing Resolution

With the expiration of the current continuing resolution (CR) set for Friday, Speaker Johnson has floated a "laddered" CR. The first part of the CR would extend at current levels funding for Agriculture, Military Construction-VA, Energy-Water and Transportation-HUD appropriations until Jan. 19. The second part of the CR would fund at current levels all other appropriations until Feb. 2. The proposal does not provide funding for Ukraine or Israel.

The House Rules Committee is expected to consider the legislation this afternoon. If the proposal makes it through the Rules Committee, a floor vote is expected on Tuesday.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sends Letter Regarding No Surprises Act Implementation

On Nov. 9, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) led Republican committee members in sending letters to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Department of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Department of Labor Acting Secretary Julie Su concerning the implementation of the No Surprises Act.

The Chairman and members are concerned that the agencies have not initiated rulemaking related to Advanced Explanation of Benefits for health plans and have not yet enforced independent dispute resolution patient protections. On Sept. 19, the committee held a hearing to discuss challenges surrounding the bill's implementation and on Oct. 18, the committee held a roundtable with federal officials to evaluate the status of the bill's implementation among federal agencies.

For more information, click here.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairmen Threaten to Subpoena SAMHSA Over Use of COVID-19 Supplemental Funds

On Nov. 1, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and two subcommittee chairmen, Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA), sent a letter to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Assistant Secretary and Administrator Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, warning that the committee could subpoena SAMHSA if it fails to provide information regarding the use of COVID-19 supplemental funds.

The chairmen are requesting that SAMHSA provide state payment management system and federal financial reports for programs that received supplemental funds including those related to certified community behavioral health clinics, suicide prevention programs, 9-8-8 crisis care services and the Substance Use Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Services Block Grant.

For more information, click here.

House Energy and Commerce Chairmen Threaten to Subpoena FDA Over Risky Virus and Biological Agent Research

On Nov. 9, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and two subcommittee chairmen, Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA), sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf, warning that the committee could subpoena the FDA if it does not provide documents regarding research on risky viruses and biological agents conducted at FDA facilities.

The committee has been investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and federal laboratory biosafety protocols since earlier this year and sent letters to the FDA in March and June requesting information on gain-of-function studies.

For more information, click here.

House Members Send Letter Concerning Use of AI in Prior Authorization

On Nov. 3, Rep. Chu (D-CA) led 31 Democratic representatives in sending a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools by Medicare Advantage (MA) plan issuers when making prior authorization coverage decisions.

The members are concerned that the use of AI tools during the prior authorization process is resulting in more frequent and repeated denials of care and they are calling on CMS to strengthen its oversight and monitoring of MA plans' use of such tools. They are also urging CMS to implement stricter prior authorization reporting requirements.

For more information, click here.

Senate

Senate Finance Committee Reports Out Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs and Extenders Act

On Nov. 8, the Senate Finance Committee marked up and reported out of committee the Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs and Extenders Act. The legislation seeks to increase Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors and providers, expand mental health and substance use disorder services, lower prescription drug costs and extend Medicare and Medicaid programs set to expire.

The legislation would also implement new disclosure requirements for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. MA plans would be required to publicly display provider directory information on a website starting in 2026, which would need to be updated every 90 days. They would also be required to submit annual reports of the accuracy of these directories to the Department of Health and Human Services.

To read the Chairman's Mark of the bill, click here.

For more information, click here.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman and Ranking Member Send Letter Concerning Federal Agency Use of AI

On Nov. 8, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Acting Commissioner Troy Miller regarding the agencies' use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

The Chairman and Ranking Member are concerned that the use of AI is resulting in unsafe and biased outcomes and are requesting that the agencies provide information on whether any safety guardrails have been implemented. On Oct. 5, the Chairman and Ranking Member sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra requesting information on HHS' implementation of AI tools.

To read the letter to DHS and CBP, click here.

To read the letter to HHS, click here.

Senate Confirms NIH Director

On Nov. 7, the Senate confirmed Dr. Monica Bertagnolli to be the next director of the National Institutes of Health on a 62-36 vote. Fourteen Republican senators joined Democrats in voting to confirm Dr. Bertagnolli.

Read more on healthcare policy in McGuireWoods Consulting's Washington Healthcare Update.

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