Congress

Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock told lawmakers Thursday (June 10) that FDA intends to have its domestic facility inspection program upgraded and fully running again by the end of summer 2021 for the first time since inspections were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congress should consider bipartisan policies to bolster home- and community-based services, Senate Finance Committee ranking Republican Mike Crapo (ID) said during a committee hearing on the HHS fiscal 2022 budget Thursday (June 10), but he is concerned that President Joe Biden’s proposal to invest $400 billion may come with labor reforms that could further harm the inpatient caregiving workforce.

The first part of the highly anticipated rulemaking on the surprise billing legislation enacted late last year is now under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), surprising some stakeholders who expected CMS might miss early deadlines.

Home- and community-based care stakeholders remain optimistic that Congress will pass President Joe Biden’s proposal to spend $400 billion on Medicaid home care as the White House shifts its infrastructure talks toward reaching a deal with a bipartisan group of senators that reportedly includes Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), an HCBS supporter, and others who have backed home care before.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra told House Ways & Means Committee members Tuesday (June 8) his department will provide some flexibility on the June 30 provider relief spending deadline, but he offered few other details on an extension that hospitals, providers and lawmakers have been advocating for.

Nursing homes estimate more than 1,600 skilled nursing facilities could close in 2021 and disrupt residents’ care if HHS doesn’t distribute the remaining provider relief and extend its deadline to spend the relief from June 30 to Dec. 30, 2022.

The coalition promoting value-based insurance design is applauding bipartisan House legislation that would codify IRS’s criteria for HSA-linked high-deductible plans to pay for care management services prior to the deductible.

Congress has expressed support for continuing telehealth flexibilities after the pandemic but has yet to pass legislation, spurring a handful of states to move ahead with their own laws regulating audio-only services, cross-state licensing, payment parity and more, according to policy watchers.

Under President Joe Biden’s fiscal 2022 budget, Medicaid would see an additional $49.6 billion compared to fiscal 2021, though the only Medicaid proposal with a new funding request is for home- and community-based services.