Week in Washington

Congress

• There continues to be swirl in Congress over the status of the reconciliation bill. President Trump endorsed the House version of the reconciliation bill which attempts to handle all issues in one bill rather than the Senate plan which would have two separate bills. While in theory this means that legislation that affects health care could move sooner, the fact that the House has not yet passed the blueprint yet, leads many observers to think that a reconciliation bill may not pass until the Fall.
• Part of the thinking on the timing is that Congress will first need to pass a spending bill before March 14 otherwise the government will shut down. Given the current climate it is likely these negotiations will take up a lot of energy/oxygen and divert away from the reconciliation bill.

Executive Branch

• Layoffs – Thousands of HHS employees were fired this week. Modern Health Care (subscription required) reported concern in the health care industry that these layoffs could cause slower federal response on a myriad of things such as approval of medical devices, prior authorization request approvals, or releasing needed guidance. More generally, the size and scope of the layoffs across the entire government is likely to cause an overall drag on the labor force market/the economy. Given the timing of the firing the impact will not appear in labor statistics until March and April.
• Preventative Services – The Trump Administration wrote a brief that will maintain the Biden Administration position before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is currently slated to hear a case that could overturn a number of the preventative service requirements. The Trump Administration’s support of the brief potentially makes a stronger case for the status quo for preventative services.

Measles

• Texas is reporting the worst case of measles outbreak in 30 years with 13 people hospitalized. Measles can lead to hospitalizations/death for those unvaccinated. Declining vaccination rates is making outbreaks more common, which could lead to a higher number of hospitalization/medical costs.