WHITE HOUSE:

The White House focused this week on more student loan debt cancellation, a new Executive Order on women’s health and innovation (full text here), and finally banning asbestos (full details here) as part of the Cancer Moonshot initiative. One item of indirect interest:

• At a campaign stop in Nevada, the President highlighted the Administration's efforts to expand affordable housing, including their use of funding from the American Rescue Plan to invest in building senior housing. In the annual Economic Report (full 487 page report here – PDF), issued this week by the Council of Economic Advisors, they targeted local zoning laws as a major factor in rising housing costs. While neither item is an immediate action item, this is an important agenda for the Administration and worth monitoring.

CONGRESS:

Congress beat the shutdown deadline after all! After the House passed the $1.2 trillion funding bill on Friday that funds the government through the end of the year, the Senate followed suit, with the President signing the bill on Saturday. If you’re not up to reading the full 1,012-page bill (PDF), The Hill, ABC, and CNN have you covered. Modern Healthcare has a summary of the healthcare specific provisions (registration required).

The political fallout from the passage that relied heavily on Democratic support (less than half the GOP voted in favor) came quickly with a motion to vacate already filed to oust GOP Speaker Mike Johnson from the post. While the motion isn’t being rushed, filing it now, before the House leaves town for a recess, is a shot across the bow at the Speaker. Ultimately, early reports are that, unlike with former Speaker McCarthy, Democrats stand ready to protect the Speaker, but would likely require political concessions to do so. With several months left till Congress wraps up for the year, the political posturing isn’t going away anytime soon.

Elsewhere in the political world:

• A progressive group of Senators and Congressional Members, led by Bernie Sanders (I – VT) and Alexandra Ocasia Cortez (D – NY) reintroduced their “Green New Deal” focused on public housing. Politico has a summary. As is often the case with severely partisan legislation, the goal isn’t to pass as is, but to shift the conversation and incorporate elements into other must-pass pieces of legislation. The one-pager is here. The section by section summary is here. The full text is here (all are PDF links).

• Complicating matters for the GOP, Wisconsin Congressman Mike Gallagher now plans to resign in April, earlier than originally planned. That lowers the Republican majority to 1, leaving the Speaker with little wiggle room in passing legislation along party lines.

• The United Nations adopted a US-led resolution calling for responsible development and deployment of AI. The text can be found here (PDF). Reuters has a summary. The resolution has little legal power but highlights the efforts governments are taking as they think about how to regulate AI.

• We often cite reports from the Congressional Research Service. It’s a service designed to advise Congressional members on topics of relevance to Congress and is a useful resource to understand the federal point of view on a wide variety of topics. A House Subcommittee this week looked at how to modernize the agency in the digital era.

• Roll Call has political takeaways from this week’s primaries.

AGENCIES:

CMS issued a new QSO outlining enhanced barrier precaution (EBP) recommendations for SNF residents. You can access a copy here (PDF). Please share with your clinical and operating teams.

The Department of Homeland Security became the first federal agency to outline their roadmap for incorporating AI into their operational day-to-day, including the launch of three pilot progams. The roadmap can be found here (PDF). The Washington Post has an interview with HHS’ National Coordinator for Health IT discussing HHS plans for AI.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended that CMS do more to provide oversight on state Medicaid Managed Care plans.

CMS officials posted a blog at HealthAffairs providing an update on CMS’ strategy for value-based care and how they plan on implementing it.

The OIG at HHS released a new impact brief on prior authorizations. You can access a copy here (PDF).

On the 10^th anniversary of the introduction of ACA marketplaces, HHS released a whole slew of data outlining enrollment and demographic trends.

HHS & DOE launched a pilot program in Illinois, Washington DC, & New Mexico that will help states connect participants in LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) with community solar subscriptions. The program is accessible at the “Clean Energy Connector” site. If you’ve got residents or families in those locations that are LIHEAP residents, they may appreciate hearing about this from you.

HHS held a follow up meeting with stakeholders as they help providers navigate the Change Healthcare cyberattack.

In an encouraging ruling, a court found in favor of a SNF in a whistleblower case and award fees to the SNF. McKnight’s has the details.

FROM THE NOTEBOOK:

• Kaiser Health News, together with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, looked at the high administrative costs and low practical gains from Georgia’s implementation of Medicaid work requirements, news that might cause other red states pause when they try to implement work requirements.

• Georgia lawmakers sent legislation that would revise the state’s CON laws to the Governor, where it waits his signature. The bill can be found here.

• This is from last week, but the NY Times explored the partnerships between hospitals and local developers in building affordable housing near health centers. It’s an interesting model that may have applicability for staffing shortages.

• Minnesota opened applications for up to $28 million in grants to help recruit and retain folks for workforce positions related to long-term care provision in the state.

• Virginia lawmakers sent legislation that would establish a “Prescription Drug Affordability Board” to the Governor. The bill would establish a state board that would review and cap pricing on several high-priced drugs. Axios looked at the success of such boards in other states.

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