WHITE HOUSE:

The White House focused this week on stopping gun trafficking, acknowledging “World Elder Abuse Awareness Day” and recognizing private sector participation in the federal effort to eliminate “junk fees”. One indirect item of interest:

• Continuing the Administration’s efforts to facilitate internet access for all, they created a one-stop shop called “Online For All” to encourage participation among the private and public sectors to raise awareness of available low-cost internet for families that qualify. As many of your residents and staff, particularly in rural communities, can benefit from knowing about this federal program, they may appreciate your participation in the education campaign.

CONGRESS:

With another week passed from the debt ceiling deal, the ramifications continue to emerge. While Conservatives ended their blockade of House action, the challenge of navigating such tight Congressional margins remain. The battle is brewing over actually funding the government in the fall, with Congressional infighting already in play.

For context, the government funding discussion is separate from the debt ceiling fight and happens when Congress doesn’t pass their annual appropriations bills. While the government shutdown decision isn’t going to clarify itself till October, of more pressing concern is a potential downgrade of the US credit rating, which could severely impact the financial markets. For now, expect this to dominate the DC conversation over the coming months. Elsewhere from the political world:

• Another Senate Committee is taking a look at PBM’s as the Finance Committee introduced bipartisan legislation, called the “Patients Before Middlemen Act”. Fierce Healthcare has a good summary of the legislation.

• The 2024 Presidential primaries continue to become more crowded, with a new challenger on the GOP side, and a new poll showing the first Democratic challenger with even a little support.

• The President formally announced his intent to nominate Dr. Mandy Cohen, formerly Secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Health & Human Services as the Director of the CDC. While the role doesn’t require Senate confirmation, it’s already starting to provoke reactions on the Hill.

• We mentioned last week that the President would address the Unions in Philadelphia this week. An early look at his remarks show a focus on the economy.

• More for the electoral wonks, but 538 took a deep dive into the way campaigns are transitioning into a more online presence for the upcoming elections.

AGENCIES:

While not guaranteed (as there is no legal obligation), CMS promised earlier this year to release the minimum staffing rule “later this spring”. With Spring officially ending this coming Wednesday, be on the lookout for the rule release this week.

With the Unwinding of Medicaid rolls underway, HHS created a new set of waivers making it easier for states to keep folks enrolled, described in a letter to Governors. The full list of waivers is available here. These are tools aimed at helping states with the process but can be useful to understand and forecast where there will be issues with Medicaid redeterminations.

HHS also announced efforts to lower prescription drug prices for low-income seniors, through an expansion of the extra help program.

HHS’ Administration for Community Living (ACL) is asking for public comment on a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) making the first substantive changes to the Older Americans Act (OAA) in 35 years. They prepared a one-page summary (PDF) and overview (PDF) of the proposed rule. If you’re in the mood for some light reading, the full 83-page proposed rule can be found here (PDF).Comments can be submitted at the Federal Register through August 15^th, 2023.

CMS’ Office of the Actuary released their latest projections of national health expenditures for 2022 – 2031. The full data set is available here. They also wrote a blog post on the projections at Health Affairs.

MedPac released their June report to Congress. The full report is available here (PDF). Fierce Healthcare has a good summary.

FROM THE NOTEBOOK:

• Health Affairs proposed several strategies on how to alleviate the healthcare staffing shortage, focusing on incentivizing getting folks into the field.

• A deep dive into the unwinding and how it will impact the future of Medicaid, this time through the eyes of Arkansas.

• The Kaiser Family Foundation looked at how the enhanced FMAP funding for Medicaid impacted spending and the future implications are.

• The NY Times looked at the states that have instituted a public option for long-term care insurance.

• Harvard Business Review explored alternate models of senior care, including PACE programs.

• A new study found that MA overpayments exceed $75 billion a year. Axios has a summary. In the meantime, the NYC lawsuit between the city’s retirees and the city over the plan to switch the retirees to a MA plan continues.

• The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), an organization that supports state legislators around the country, posted a podcast about strategies for states to address their nursing shortages.

• Modern Healthcare did a deep dive into the emerging frontier of digital health technology in Israel. Registration at Modern Healthcare is required.

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