There will be no digest next week. We will return Monday, January 5th. Happy New Year!

WHITE HOUSE:

The White House focused this week on further efforts to secure the border, designating fentanyl as a “Weapon of Mass Destruction” (thereby unlocking more tools for the Administration to use in the fight against drugs), giving federal employees off on December 24th and 26th, signing a new Executive Order focused on space exploration, and a primetime address to the nation. Two items of interest for us:

·      They announced the largest new partnership to date with nine drug manufacturers to bring “most-favored nation” pricing for drugs in line with what foreign countries pay for those drugs. While much of the details remain unclear, in theory, these agreements should lead to lower costs for the consumers via the new federal website that will help make available the direct-to-consumer pricing after January 1st: www.trumprx.gov.

·      The President also signed an Executive Order that directs the federal government to expedite review and reclassification of marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug. We’ve mentioned this before, but reclassification should make it far easier for marijuana to be used in research, as well as start the path towards eventually solving many of the current banking conflicts that exists for business operating in the space (since marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, despite state legalization efforts, and will remain illegal even after the reclassification). Having said that, how the EO plays out and what the rest of the federal government does (including Congress) remains unclear.

CONGRESS:

Congress left town for the Holidays with a lot left undone, including how to tackle the healthcare affordability crisis posed by rising premiums. Adding to the challenge is the limited time left when they return before the government funding deadline of January 30th, although it looks like Democrats are more likely to play ball this time around. With mounting frustration against GOP Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership, Republicans joining Democrats on forcing a vote to extend the subsidies against the wishes of party leadership, and even Democrats unclear about what to do about healthcare, the stage is set for a rambunctious January when Congress returns. Elsewhere in the political world:

·      Senator Marsha Blackburn announced another Congressional framework for AI regulation, seeking to codify the President’s EO that would bar state regulation of AI. The section-by-section breakdown is here (PDF).

·      Despite the President’s EO, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the state’s newest AI regulation bill, called the RAISE Act.

·      Two more big retirements from Congress this week, as Senator Cynthis Lumis and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik both said they’re retiring at the end of their term. Stefanik also said she’s abandoning her gubernatorial bid. In total, we’re up to  55 members of Congress on their way out in 2026, a total of more than 10% (!), and potentially more to come.

·      A post-mortem of the two gubernatorial elections in NJ & VA showed major points of concern for the GOP, as Republican voters backed the Democrats over cost-of-living concerns. It all adds up to an unclear situation for the 2026 midterms.

·      The redistricting wars have resulted in some truly strange shaped Congressional districts.

·      3 useful CRS Reports from the week:

o   IF13135: A guide to recent federal activity related to AI in healthcare.

o   IF13133: A guide to the WiSER model, the new CMS payment model that deploys AI in prior authorization rules to catch fraud and waste in Medicare.

o   R46797: An update to their guide for Congressional offices on federal legislation and tools for regulating Medicare.  

AGENCIES:

CMS, together with the Department of Labor and the Treasury Department, released a new proposed rule that makes changes to the hospital price transparency rules. The fact sheet is here. The rule is scheduled to be published to the Federal Register on December 23rd, but if you simply can’t wait, you can download a prepublication copy of the 241-page rule here (PDF).

HHS issued a RFI asking for input on how they can accelerate the adoption of AI into healthcare. The RFI is scheduled to be published to the Federal Register on December 23rd, but you can access a prepublication copy of the RFI here (PDF).

CMS proposed a new model, called GLOBE, that would tie Medicare payments for prescription drugs to prices in other countries. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is scheduled to be published to the Federal Register on December 23rd, but if you’re hankering for some readin’, you can access a prepublication copy of the 279-page proposed NPRM here (PDF).

CMS announced the formation of a new office to oversee the Rural Health Transformation Fund.

CMMI Director Abe Sutton penned a blog post providing a broader overview of the new ACCESS model, which is designed to better integrate technology into primary care.

CMS released a guide to the upcoming new rules related to skin-grafts.

The OIG at HHS performed a new audit, finding that NJ needs to improve its oversight of SNF’s compliance with background check rules. The summary is here while the full report is here (both PDF).

The OIG at HHS released an analysis of dual-eligibles access to Part D drugs. The summary is here while the full report is here (both PDF).

The Department of Education announced a settlement of a lawsuit that will end a Biden-Era pause on student loan repayments.

The US Office of Personnel Management announced a new effort to recruit AI talent to work for the US government. The Memo outlining the program is here (PDF). The central website for the program, called Tech Force, is here.

FROM THE NOTEBOOK:

·      AHCA’s Clif Porter published their year-end review along with their 2025 annual report (PDF).

·      The state of Washington will launch a new pilot program for folks to access LTC benefits under the state’s new WA Cares program.

·      A long look at a fight between Humana and United in Washington.

·      A two-part series from the Keene Sentinel on the backlog in processing Medicaid applications in the state.

·      New Hampshire is moving in the right direction of restoring Medicaid cuts in the state, as the state’s Medicaid agency requested (PDF) that funds be redirected into the program. This is just the first step in the process, but a welcome sign.