Week in Washington is brought to you by Michael Cohen, PhD. Tune in each week to read the latest on healthcare policy and get a glimpse of what’s on the horizon
Week in Washington
5/26/2022
Congress
While there are general efforts to move health care related legislation, one bill that is garnering bipartisan support is the Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act or H.R. 3173 (117). The bill would remove prior authorization for certain benefits and services. The bill was recently endorsed by a coalition that included health insurers.
Supreme Court
Supreme Court case season will speed up after the Memorial Day holiday. There are a number of health care related cases that are expected to be released in the month of June.
States
CMS announced that four states (California, Oregon, Florida, and Kentucky) were approved for extending post-partum Medicaid coverage from 6 months to a year.
CBO
CBO released its 10 year budget projections. CBO estimates that inflation will remain high this year although it does not estimate a recession. CBO indicated that Medicare costs would be higher than previously estimated due to higher input costs.
Covid
Covid cases and hospitalizations continued to climb as a result of the new Omicron variant. CDC released a report on long term effects of contracting Covid. They found that survivors of Covid were more likely to experience other medical conditions than non-survivors for diseases such as pulmonary embolism and respiratory conditions. Older individuals (e.g., those over 65) were more likely to suffer from long term covid than younger individuals.
Previous editions:
05/19/2022: Week in Washington
05/12/2022: Week in Washington
05/05/2022: Week in Washington
04/28/2022: Week in Washington
04/21/2022: Week in Washington
04/07/2022: Week in Washington
03/31/2022: Week in Washington
03/24/2022: Week in Washington