Lawmakers are headed back to DC after a short break, without a clear path forward for funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and foreign policy on their minds. It’s shaping up to be another big week so let’s get into it. Welcome to the Week Ahead!
The Administration
President Trump will be offering his State of the Union address on February 24. On health care, we expect the President to continue message on affordability. And we know why – the midterms are fast approaching!
A recent KFF poll found that 66% of US adults worry about being able to afford health care for them and their family, placing health care concerns above housing, utilities, and groceries. We expect the President to tout the launch of TrumpRx and recent efforts to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse as evidence of his success.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) February meeting has been cancelled, following a legal challenge from the American Academy of Pediatrics over the committee members. Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy removed all 17 ACIP members in June 2025 and selected replacements who are more skeptical about vaccines.
The Senate
While foreign policy is making the rounds on the news with the discussion of the War Powers Resolution, what is happening with health care?
Casey Means, nominated to be Surgeon General of the United States, will testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee on February 25. Her pick stirred up some controversy from within the Make America Health Again (MAHA) movement last year. One of Means’ most vocal critics was Laura Loomer, who raised concerns about her lack of an active medical license.
The Senate Aging Committee is holding a hearing on the regulatory process for rare diseases at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 26. This just one week after Senate HELP Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) released a report on the FDA review process and reorganization. With closer looks from two Senate committees, Senate action on pushing FDA to approve treatments faster may be in the near future.
The House
Hospitals and providers will be in the spotlight in March as the House Ways and Means Committee continues looking at broad constituencies in the health care sector. As campaign season begins, both Republicans and Democrats will want to show their constituents that they are working on improving health care affordability.
In the meantime, the Health Subcommittee is holding a hearing on advancing the healthcare workforce on February 24. While not the committee that typically talks about workforce, we expect Republicans to take credit for pushing out key workforce dollars from the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. Health care providers are up in arms about the concerns the Department of Education’s proposed rule on graduate and professional student loans, which would greatly limit the amount of funding for medical and nursing students. This on top of visa approvals and renewals being stalled, with the lapse in DHS funding, will certainly be hot topics.
Also, the House is buzzing with the release of the draft Farm Bill. Don’t forget the Farm Bill includes telemedicine loans and grants and rural broadband improvements.
There You Have It
The Winter Olympics have officially ended with the US walking away with 33 medals, including 2 impressive overtime gold medal wins from the men’s and women’s hockey teams. What was your favorite event? Let us know. Make it a great week!
