Big news out of Illinois this morning with the announcement that the Health Care Council of Illinois (HCCI) and the Illinois Health Care Association (IHCA) will be merging under the HCCI brand name. Combining the strongest elements of both groups, HCCI will become the Illinois affiliate of the American Health Care Association and continue both organizations’ proud legacy of advocating for the skilled nursing and assisted living facilities of Illinois.

We wish them the very best as they embark on the next chapter of skilled nursing and assisted living advocacy in the state!

WHITE HOUSE:

The White House focused this week on new regulations governing imports (this is especially relevant for shipments from China), the 30^thanniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, and an update on their efforts on behalf of Black Americans. Two items of indirect interest for us:

• More in the agency section below, but the Administration issued a final rule governing mental health and substance use coverage. The rule primarily governs insurance coverage of mental health and substance abuse care. Especially if you take care of a population that falls within these parameters, it’s important to make sure you’re aware of the changes.

• They continued their roundtables on AI, which represents a public-private partnership designed to foster more oversight and regulation of AI. The focus of this roundtable was primarily on the development and growth of AI data centers. As part of the roundtable, they announced a new interagency task force overseeing the deployment of new resources for growth of datacenters. As with everything AI-related, every action of the federal government has repercussions up and down the ladder for those involved in the field.

CONGRESS:

Welp, that went poorly. House Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to pull a six-month government funding continuing resolution (CR) from the House floor when it became clear that it had no viable path to passage. As a reminder, a CR simply keeps the government funded at current levels and avoids a government shutdown. While the initial failure is likely attributable to the inclusion of a voting rights amendment, a more pressing concern is the length of the continuing resolution, with Republicans wanting six months to carry through to a different Administration and Democrats looking for three months so that a proper path can be worked out. Of bigger concern for Speaker Johnson is the ongoing internal division within the GOP, something that doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. For now, with several weeks to go before a government shutdown, the likeliest outcome remains a simple agreement to keep things funded through December. Elsewhere in the political world:

• With one of the most respected political prognosticators shifting Democratic Senator Jon Tester’s race in favor of his Republican opponent, it’s worth noting that most of the vulnerable Senators are Democrats, while most of the vulnerable House members are Republicans. Senator Tester, of course, has been one of the long-term care industry’s most vocal champions.

• The House Freedom Caucus has narrowed the search for the new leader to 2 candidates. The caucus, which represents some of the most conservative members of Congress, often clashes with former Speaker McCarthy and current Speaker Johnson.

• One way that folks in politics analyze elections is via the offshore betting markets. Earlier this week, a federal judge allowed a company in the United States to host an election betting markets for the first time.

• Two interesting CRS reports from the week (links are to the PDF):

• R46797 – An updated version of a guide to Congressional offices on finding resources related to Medicare FFS schedules. It’s a very useful way of tracking the many different federal regulations that govern the program.

• IF12758 – A guide to weight loss drugs and their status under Medicare Part D.

AGENCIES:

As mentioned above, three agencies, the DOL, HHS, & Treasury released the final rule governing private healthcare coverage of mental health and substance abuse. A fact sheet can be found here. As of the time of this writing, the final rule has been submitted to the Office of the Federal Register for publication, but hasn’t yet been scheduled. If you’re in the mood for some easy reading, the 536 page rule can be accessed here (PDF). For the most part, the rule governs health plan coverage of mental health and other disorders.

HHS, via the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ), announced a new funding opportunity, aimed at Medicaid agencies and other stakeholders, to facilitate the development of “State-Based Healthcare Cooperatives”. The stated goal is to accelerate the adoption of new healthcare research into healthcare delivery. The grant page can be found here.

We’ve been tracking CMS’ new Medicare Prescription Payment plan. They launched a new central resource page for consumers to better understand their options.

CMS issued a new overview of their enforcement discretion as it relates to healthcare related tax provisions utilized to fund a state’s Medicaid share. While highly technical, this is important information related to how a state funds their Medicaid share with programs, such as bed taxes. This can potentially complicate discussions centered on state investment in Medicaid programs. You can access a copy here (PDF).

CMS issued their annual update to SNF HCPCS billing codes. You can access a copy here (PDF).

FROM THE NOTEBOOK:

• Maine released nearly $30 million in one-time supplemental payments to SNF’s in the state.

• The Wall Street Journal took an updated look at the situation on the ground for healthcare providers, month after the Change cyberattacks.

• The Kaiser Family Foundation released a new analysis showing that MA quality bonus payments will total more than $11.8 billion for 2024.

• Yet another Minnesota hospital chain is dropping their MA networks.

• A deep dive from Harvard Professor David Grabowski on I-SNP’s and the potential they offer for SNP’s. It’s published at the New England Journal of Medicine (free registration required).

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