WHITE HOUSE:

The White House focused this week on the US-EU Trade & Technology Council (which focuses on better transatlantic trade cooperation and includes a “joint roadmap” for development of AI policy making), a new joint action group with the UK to secure a more sustainable short-term energy supply (which, in theory, can lead to lower energy costs in the near future) and a new federal effort to protect pensions for union workers. Two items of interest:

• Building on a federal effort regarding Marijuana reform we mentioned a few months ago, the President signed HR 8454: the Medical Marijuana and CBD Research Expansion Act. As we mentioned then, this is part of a general federal expansion of marijuana policy and can have implications for everything from workforce to marijuana legalization.

• They created a new initiative designed to develop collaboration with Puerto Rico. For our purposes, one key item is the creation of a workforce development program for HHS (in conjunction with other federal agencies) and workers from Puerto Rico looking for employment in the healthcare industry.

CONGRESS:

As expected, Senator Raphael Warnock won the runoff election in Georgia, securing a majority for the Democrats in the Senate through 2024. The win proved even more crucial when Senator Kyrsten Sinema of AZ announced on Friday that she is leaving the Democratic party and registering as an Independent. While the switch is notable, it appears to mostly be about her reelection campaign in 2024 and will likely have little material impact on Democratic control of the Senate.

As the dust settled on the 2022 midterms, Congress continued to work on the government funding bill. One hurdle was removed when Democrats agreed to remove a vaccine requirement for troops, clearing the way for final passage (through the House, with the Senate expected to follow next week) of a $847 billion National Defense Authorization Act. With the December 16^th government funding deadline fast approaching, Congress is under immense pressure to get a deal done. A few other notes from Congress:

• The Select Subcommittee on Covid released their final report after two years of hearings. You can access the 218-page report here (PDF).

• The Select Subcommittee also released a report on fraud in PPP. You can access a copy here (PDF).

• As it’s never too early to think about 2024, The Hill published a survey that the majority of Democratic voters do not want President Biden to run again. 538 took a look at the very favorable roadmap for Republicans in the 2024 Senate as well as beyond.

• Despite all the noise around Twitter these days, it remains the favored forum for communication on the Hill.

• The Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan analysis office for Congress, released their latest two-volume series with policy recommendations to Congress on how to trim the budget. Volume I is here & Volume II is here (PDF). They also updated an online tool to explore different options and how it would impact the long-term federal outlook. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget posted an easier to digest summary.

• Democrats finalized their leadership plans for the upcoming Congressional session, while Republicans continue to figure things out, both for the role of Speaker as well as Chairman of the Ways & Means committee, a very important committee for the SNF industry.

• The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a case that can significantly disrupt state elections, an important case to monitor.

• Finally, highlighting a point we’ve often made, money isn’t everything in politics, underscored yet again in the 2022 midterms.

AGENCIES:

CMS released a new proposed rule aimed at reforming the prior authorization process. They also published a fact sheet on the new rule. You can access a copy of the 400 page proposed rule here (PDF), which will be formally published to the Federal Register on Tuesday the 13^th. Upon publication, a comment period will open.

The OIG at HHS released their semiannual report on the office to Congress. You can access a copy here (PDF). Among other items, the report contains a summary of all the reports the OIG produced since April.

They also released a report analyzing labs that billed Medicare part B for “add-on” tests alongside Covid test. You can access copy here (PDF).

OTHER:

On the non-agency front:

• With the nursing shortage crisis continuing to impact health care, several large private foundations are committing significant donations to address the shortage.

• The NY Times explored the developing crisis of seniors with no family and who will care for them.

• Kaiser Health News looked at how private equity is investing in clinical trials, as part of their ongoing look at private equity in health care.

• A look at California’s program to incentivize individuals to provide care to seniors at-home.

• MedPac released (PDF) their December analysis of SNF payment adequacy. You can see ECap Intel Co-Founder Marc Zimmet’s thoughts here.