Squire Patton Boggs’ State Attorneys General Practice Group is comprised of lawyers who have served at senior levels in state AG offices around the country and whose practices focus, to one degree or another, on representing clients before these increasingly assertive and powerful, yet often overlooked, government agencies, as explained in detail here. In these … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity On Wednesday, July 23, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will meet to consider several health related bills, including: S. 315, Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education (MD-CARE) Amendments of 2013; S. 2154, Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act of 2014; S. 531, Physical Activity … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s PPACA Vote House leadership has scheduled a vote next week to ban federal subsidies from being used for abortion coverage. H.R. 7, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), is scheduled for floor consideration on Wednesday January 29, and would prohibit any federal funds from … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Leadership is expected to bring up an Affordable Care Act (ACA) bill next week that would address security issues with the health insurance exchanges and enhance protection of personal information entered on the healthcare.gov website. The measure will be the first of a number of proposals in 2014 addressing health reform focusing … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity SGR Update The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a one-page memo that lowered the cost for repealing Medicare’s physician payment formula, reporting that a ten-year repeal would cost about $23 billion less than a previous estimate this year. According to the CBO, the cost of repealing the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula would … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity The House and Senate will continue to hold oversight and investigation hearings focused on the problems with HealthCare.gov. This week’s hearings follow the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) announcement that 106,185 individuals have selected a health care insurance plan through the exchanges and President Obama’s announcement that HHS will use its … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Following a bad week for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) roll-out, with criticism of the deficiencies from Republicans and Democrats alike, this week will bring renewed calls for legislative action to delay implementation. Provisions that would extend the open enrollment period and a delayed tax enforcement of the individual mandate are getting the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Centerstage: Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA) remains in the spotlight this week with Tuesday, October 1 marking a major deadline as open enrollment in the health insurance exchanges officially begins. ACA defund and delay provisions, however, remain a key issue in the ping-pong over the continuing resolution (CR). The Senate … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity CR Wrangling The House approved H. J. Res. 59 last week, a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government through December 15 at sequester funding levels. As expected, the resolution includes a provision that would defund the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Senate will take up the CR this week, and is expected … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity The House will resume discussions this week about how to move a Continuing Resolution (CR) while appeasing conservative Republican members looking to attach a provision to block funding for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Last week, a scheduled vote on the CR was cancelled when the conference rejected a plan that would allow … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Premium Subsidy Bill House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) will continue to drive legislation to undermine elements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and advance “patient-centered systems” when Congress returns to session. The strategy will continue to unfold this fall and kicks off with the House taking up H.R. 2775 this week, a … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, July 30: The Senate Budget Committee will hold a hearing on “Containing Health Care Costs: Recent Progress and Remaining Challenges.” Wednesday, July 31: The House Committee on Energy and Commerce will mark up H.R. 2810, the sustainable growth rate and Medicare payment for physicians reform bill. Wednesday, July 31: … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Energy and Commerce and SGR Reform Last week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce released updated draft legislation that addresses physician payments under Medicare and reforms the sustainable growth rate. While Republicans Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA), and Michael Burgess (R-TX) have been active in the drafting … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Mandate Votes Following the U.S. Treasury’s announcement of a one-year delay in the Affordable Care Act employer responsibility requirements, House leadership plans to hold two votes this week to repeal both the employer and individual mandates for one year (H.R. 2667 and H.R. 2668). The move would force House Democrats to go … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Student Loan Interest Rates The agreement reached on a student loan interest rate package last week has been disrupted after a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score estimated a $22 billion (over 10 years) cost to the proposal. A bipartisan group consisting of Democratic Senators Joe Manchin (WV), Tom Carper (DE), and Dick Durbin … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Full Time Employee Bill Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Joe Donnelly (R-IN) introduced a bill that would change the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) definition of a full-time worker to someone who works 40 hours a week, up from 30 hours, titled the “Forty Hours is Full Time Act of 2013.” The Senators also … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Franks Abortion Bill The House is scheduled to take up H.R. 1797, the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” on Tuesday, June 18, that would ban nearly all abortions after the twentieth week of pregnancy. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), was approved by a vote of 20-12 by the House Judiciary … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, June 11: The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee will hold a hearing titled “Reducing Duplication and Improving Outcomes in Federal Information Technology.” Wednesday, June 12: The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Yvette Roubideaux to be the Health and Human … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity E&C SGR Reform Draft and Hearing House Energy & Commerce Committee staff unveiled a draft legislative framework for repeal of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. The proposed framework would repeal and replace the SGR and provide an undefined period of stable payments. It would also include the development of quality measures for … Continue Reading
