Congress

House Democrats plan to take up legislation next week to extend the Medicare sequester moratorium through the end of the year and to waive the PAY-GO scorecard for the newly signed American Rescue Plan so that it doesn’t create an additional sequester cut, lobbyists say.

Senate Democrats led by New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen are pushing legislation that would enhance the value of and eligibly for the Affordable Care Act’s cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) and permanently fund the program, thus eliminating the need for the “silver-loading” workaround that insurers crafted after the Trump administration ended direct payments to reimburse their costs for the subsidies in 2017.

Cities and counties would each receive $65.1 billion -- more than a previous draft’s allocation -- under the latest Senate version of the American Rescue Plan passed Saturday (March 6), while states would be subject to the Treasury secretary’s discretion on whether they should get all of their COVID-19 relief funds upfront or wait a year to receive a portion.

House lawmakers are trying to balance their interest in continuing telehealth expansion beyond the pandemic with concerns such services could be overused or used improperly, coming as Department of Justice officials say stopping telehealth false claims is a priority.

The National Kidney Foundation this week cheered introduction of bipartisan legislation that aims to protect living organ donors by banning life and long-term insurers from denying them coverage.

The COVID-19 pandemic has overshadowed policymakers’ attention to the opioid and substance use disorder crisis, stakeholders say, but provisions included in COVID-19 relief legislation are a good start in recognizing the connection between the two public health emergencies.

The Senate COVID-19 relief package heading to the floor will cover 100% of COBRA premiums, up from the 85% level in the House bill, numerous Democratic senators announced Wednesday (March 3).

HHS Secretary-nominee Xavier Becerra committed, if confirmed, to look into the disproportionate effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on nursing home residents and to expand data collection to better track demographic trends from the virus on congregate living settings, but in his response to written questions from Senate Finance Committee members he was vague on how he would work to lessen the impact of private equity ownership on nursing homes.

There is an increasing possibility that congressional Democrats’ COVID-19 relief package will cover 100% of the cost of COBRA benefits, a policy strongly supported by unions and employers.