Lawmakers return to D.C. following tragic plane crashes in Arlington, VA and Philadelphia, PA, amid a number of questions regarding airline safety. Congress continues consideration of President Trump’s cabinet nominees as well as discussions on budget reconciliation and government funding. So, with that, let’s get into it. Welcome to the Week Ahead!
The Administration
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a presser on January 29 commenting on the Biden administration’s recent release of the next 15 drugs to be included in the second cycle of Medicare prescription drug price negotiations. CMS intends to “provide opportunities for stakeholders to offer specific ideas to improve the Negotiation Program consistent with the goals of achieving greater value for beneficiaries and taxpayers and continuing to foster innovation.”
Allowing the government direct negotiating power in the Medicare prescription drug program (Part D) was a signature achievement of the Inflation Reduction Act and has been a policy goal for Democrats going back to the creation of the Part D program. President Trump’s position on Medicare drug price negotiations is murky at best. While he hasn’t always held to traditional conservative positions on drug policy, Democratic Members of Congress aren’t taking any chances and are asking for Trump to reject any effort to undo the Medicare negotiation policy.
The Senate
The name of the game for the Senate continues to be confirming President Trump’s nominees. On February 4, the Senate Finance Committee will hold an Executive Session to vote on the nomination of RFK Jr. to be the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This vote follows hearings at both the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP Committee) where RFK Jr. received widespread support from Republicans (although there were some grumblings from a few HELP GOP Members about Kennedy’s position on vaccine safety and efficacy). Since the Senate Finance Committee is the only committee that will vote on Kennedy’s nomination, the next step after the February 4 vote (assuming the committee advances the nomination) will be a vote on the Senate floor for confirmation.
The Senate Finance Committee will also consider Jamieson Greer for U.S. Trade Representative on February 6. The U.S. Trade Representative can have a significant impact on health care policy as they work to implement the President’s trade agenda.
In Trump’s case, that agenda includes the use of tariffs. Even though the Constitution gives Congress the authority to lay and collect duties on imported goods, Congress has given the President authority to change tariff rates if the administration can make the case that doing so is in response to specific national security or foreign policy interests.
President Trump made use of these authorities during his first administration and has promised to impose tariffs on imported products including medical supplies and prescription drugs. The Trump Administration and other Republicans argue that these tariffs are necessary to protect American industry and reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign countries for critical supplies such as medicines. Opponents raise concerns that tariffs may lead to increased prices and more shortages of generic drugs. We expect tariffs to be a major topic of conversation at Greer’s hearing.
The House
Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2025 on January 31. This bill would provide physicians with a 6.62% increase in Medicare reimbursement rates that would be retroactive to the start of 2025 when a 2.8% reimbursement rate reduction went into effect. Addressing concerns about the Medicare reimbursement rates for physicians has long been a priority for doctors. When Congress didn’t step in to mitigate the impact of the reimbursement rate reduction at the beginning of the year, physician groups were disappointed. But the introduction of this bill gives some hope that some relief from the payment cut that took effect on January could happen. That said, introducing the bill is just the first step in a year packed with government funding decisions and budget reconciliation.
Speaking of budget reconciliation, it is unlikely that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will be able to meet his optimistic goal of passing a budget resolution by February 27. This is especially true given reports of a phone call between members of the House Budget Committee that apparently failed to produce a date for marking up the resolution. Speaker Johnson is now reportedly pushing expectations back to May 2025, a timeline more in line with recent Congresses. A later date is also an acknowledgment of the difficulty of passing a partisan resolution where just one or a few GOP defectors could be spoilers.
Also Happening This Week
- 2/5: House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs legislative hearing on bills including H.R. 741, to elevate the Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS) to an Assistant Secretary position (Note: RFK Jr. has said he will elevate the IHS Director to an Assistant Secretary position if confirmed as HHS Secretary).
- 2/6: House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on the threat of illicit drugs.
There You Have It
The 2025 GRAMMYs were awarded on February 2, with a special effort to raise funds for those impacted by the L.A. wildfires. Did your favorites win? Let us know! Make it a great week!