The Week Ahead

With the Senate and House both failing to advance a War Powers Resolution, military action in Iran is heating up. The Department of Homeland Security remains shut down and now is undergoing a leadership change. The House is out this week but there is PLENTY of health policy to talk about so let’s get into it. Welcome to the Week Ahead!

The Administration

The President’s FY 2027 budget proposal is in the works and the White House is tentatively aiming to release their proposal the week of March 30. We expect the budget to highlight further ways the administration plans to address affordability and waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending.

The March meeting of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has been postponed, with no confirmed rescheduled date yet. The USPSTF is responsible for making recommendations on preventive health services, such as screenings, counseling, and medications, that insurance plans must cover at no cost to patients. The task force hasn’t met since before Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was confirmed. It seems a little ironic since the administration has been focused on keeping Americans healthy and preventing disease, no?

And resumes welcome at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the head of biologics Vinay Prasad is leaving at the end of April. The FDA is also planning on reducing the number of studies that are required to demonstrate biosimilar drugs are equivalent to their brand name counterparts. With patients and industry both growing frustrated with approval pace and decisions, Commissioner Marty Makary is back in the hot seat.

The Senate

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has promised a speedy confirmation process for Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to replace Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security. If confirmed, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) will appoint an interim Senator until the November midterm elections, maintaining the Republican party’s 6-seat majority for now. Sen. Mullin’s expected departure would bring change to some key health care committees. This is because Sen. Mullin currently serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee Labor-HHS subcommittee.

DHS appropriations is in the Senate’s hands, after the House passed the funding bill on March 5. Pressure to end the shutdown is mounting as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers receive their first $0 paycheck, which, if the past is anything to go on, will soon result in more worker call-outs and airport delays.

In the health care spotlight, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) have been leading a Democratic prescription drug pricing working group to develop the next era of federal drug pricing policy. The group has been meeting with stakeholders to gather input and position drug affordability as a central campaign issue heading into the midterm elections.

Health Care Hearings This Week

• March 11: Senate Aging Committee hearing on America’s drug supply chain

The House

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee is expected to hold the next hearing in its health care affordability series with the examination of hospitals and providers when House members get back after their short break this week.

Reconciliation 2.0 may be in the offing as House Republican leaders have reportedly agreed to pursue a second bite at the apple.  Will it be like the One Big, Beautiful Bill?  Our intel indicates a strong interest among House Republicans in including health care policies, especially policies aimed at addressing waste, fraud, and abuse.

There You Have It

According to Oura, the switch to Daylight Savings Time has measurable negative effects on sleep, like decreased deep sleep and more tossing and turning. Have you felt the effects? Let us know. Make it a great week!

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!

While DC is still digging the city out of one of the worst winter storms of the last decade, Congress is in a storm of its own. The government entered a partial shutdown on January 31 after the Senate passed an amended minibus.  As we await House action, let’s get into it. Welcome to the Week Ahead!

The Administration

The anticipated launch of TrumpRx has gotten off to a rocky start. The platform, which will allow individuals to purchase prescription drugs at discounted rates, was supposed to launch on January 30, but is experiencing delays. While the administration has not given a reason, there has been speculation that deals with pharmaceutical companies are violating anti-kickback statute laws.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kennedy reportedly said that TrumpRx will launch “probably in the next 10 days,” indicating optimism that the holdup will be addressed quickly.

Meanwhile, changes to the Medicare Advantage (MA) program in the proposed Calendar Year 2027 MA and Part D Advance Notice are causing alarm among stakeholders.  Both AHIP and the Better Medicare Alliance hinted at possible benefits cuts should the rates be finalized as proposed.  The Association of Community Health Plans expressed concerns about the impact to safety net plans.  Even the American Hospital Association piled on, worrying that changes to the Star Ratings program could affect access to care.  With comments due February 25, proponents are scrambling to change the minds of CMS officials.

The Senate

As if the Senate heard us wondering, discussions on a potential enhanced advance premium tax credit (APTC) deal have renewed. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) reportedly shared legislative text on a compromise extension bill with 4 Democratic colleagues and is awaiting responses. But time has run out for the request by Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) to have a bipartisan deal by the end of January.

Health Care Hearings This Week

• February 3: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) hearing on modernizing the National Institutes of Health
• February 4: Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing on Veteran health and healing through adaptive sports

The House

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) may have thought he had finished FY26 funding, but it is back on his to-do list.   With health care programs and health policy extenders taken care of in the Senate minibus, Johnson has to steer his caucus through a new vote strategy.

House Freedom Caucus members have previously stated that they will oppose a funding bill that does not include funding for the Department of Homeland Security. However, that was before President Trump endorsed the idea, and the Senate fell in line.  The House Rules Committee meets February 2 to set up floor debate and passage.

The House Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee will hold a hearing on February 3 to examine Medicare and Medicaid fraud. The Subcommittee has recently been investigating allegations of Medicare home health and hospice payment fraud in Los Angeles County as well as Medicaid fraud in Minnesota, so this hearing will be a prime opportunity for the Subcommittee majority to highlight those actions. While the hearing is timely, remember that the Oversight Subcommittee is not responsible for writing policy related to Medicare and Medicaid fraud.  That’s up to the Health Subcommittee to determine any legislative activity in relation to the investigations.

There You Have It

We were on the edge of our seats watching the Grammys last night. Did your favorites win? Anyone you think got snubbed a la Bill Belichick? Let us know. Make it a great week!