Week in Washington 082522

Week in Washington

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

8/25/2022

With Congress on recess, news has slowed here in Washington but there were a few pieces of odds and ends news this week.

Regulations
- The tri-departments (Labor, HHS, and Treasury) released a final regulation surrounding issues of implementation for the No Surprises Act. This regulation dealt with the Independent Dispute Resolution Process.
Georgia v. CMS
- Georgia is currently engaged in two legal fights with CMS over its 1115 waiver (Medicaid) and its 1332 waiver (individual market). In both cases, CMS has attempted to rescind waivers approved under the prior Administration. In the 1115 waiver case, a federal judge has sided with Georgia, although the case will be appealed. In the 1332 issue, Georgia is expected to file a lawsuit.
FDA/Boosters
- New Omicron specific boosters are expected to rollout in early September according to news reports. Pfizer boosters are expected to be available at the beginning of September while Moderna boosters are expected to be available at the end of September.

Research You Can Use

HHS released estimates on the projected enrollment effects of unwinding the Medicaid continuous enrollment process. HHS estimates that approximately 15 million (or about 17.4% of the current Medicaid/CHIP enrollment) would leave the program when the Public Health Emergency ends.
Kaiser Family Foundation released new data on trends in Medicare Advantage in 2022. Given current trajectories, MA could overtake traditional Medicare as having the largest share of Medicare enrollees as soon as next year.
A new report was released on hospital expenses and margins. Overall, the analysis found that hospital margins have been negative so far in 2022.
Private sector prices (trend) was 5.4% above where they were last year, which was a dramatic increase from last year, although below overall inflation levels. It should be noted there currently is a divergence in prices between the private sector and Medicare.