President's Day is a short week
After the president's long weekend, the house will finish the session this week. The Senate is in session and focuses on the nomination and potential floor action for the budget resolution reported last week by the Senate Budget Committee. This week, the Senate's Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs will hold a hearing for Dan Bishop, who has been appointed deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. Healthcare could certainly be a topic raised at hearings.
What we haven't seen yet this week is whether there are any additional steps towards budget settlement. Last week, the Senate and House Budget Committee passed very different budget resolutions. The Senate version is the first of two settlement efforts, focusing solely on energy, immigration and defense policies, but the House wants to pass one big package with all priorities, including Trump's tax cuts. Masu. Both versions may include healthcare policies to offset spending priorities, but the magnitude of Medicaid healthcare reductions, particularly in the House of Representatives. Committee. With the house leaving this week, the Senate was able to send budget resolutions stacked on the floor and sent home. Of course, the house doesn't have to act on that bill. There is a very high chance that the home can move forward with its own unique approach. However, before either body turns to the substantive task of developing a settlement package, a unified budget solution must pass through both bodies.
Last Thursday, Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. was confirmed and sworn in as secretary to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). His Senate confirmation votes range from 52 to 48, with Senator McConnell (R-KY) the only Republican. As predicted, President Trump undertook several medical procedures shortly after RFK Jr. was sworn in. He has signed an executive order establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission. Its first mission is to advise the president on how to deal with chronic childhood illnesses. The order directs the committee to study causes of contribution, advise the president on public education, and provide government-wide recommendations to address causes of contribution. Additional executive orders on health care may be approaching.
As expected, the Trump administration fired thousands of HHS employees on Friday and on weekends, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the National Institutes of Health. The Trump administration argues that the layoffs did not include essential workers. Although individuals who are fired are primarily included in their probation period, the impact of these changes is still understood and may affect the operation of Medicare, Medicaid, federal grant programs, and other HHS functions. It has sex.
Today's podcast
This week's Healthcare Preview Podcast will feature Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock joining Julia Grabo to summarise the layoffs for the masses HHS over the long weekend and discuss the next steps in the budget adjustment process.
