Programming Note: In observance of Passover, there will be no Digest next week. We will return on Monday, April 13. Happy Holidays to all!

WHITE HOUSE:

The White House focused this week on continuing their efforts to eliminate discrimination in federal contracting, the launch of an official White House app (along with a general social media push to promote their efforts), and the First Lady’s gathering of First Spouses to discuss AI and education, part of her “Fostering the Future” initiative. One item of indirect interest:

• The President signed an executive order directing OMB to pay TSA front-line personnel. While the mechanics of how the payments are to be made, and exactly what legal authority the President has to make the payments, remain unclear, the practical impact is that TSA agents are likely to start getting paychecks in the next few days, which should ease airport delays.

CONGRESS:

Well, that fell apart quickly. After the Senate finally agreed on a bill to end the partial government shutdown and fund DHS, the House rejected the bill and passed a stop-gap 60-day continuing resolution that has little chance of passing the Senate. It’s a strange political calculus by Speaker Mike Johnson as he navigates the tension within the GOP and now risks getting tagged as the party that prolonged the shutdown, especially with the House & Senate not scheduled to come back to DC till April 13th. Still, with the President issuing the EO to pay front-line workers at TSA, one of the major pressures to get a deal done has fallen off. With the partial government shutdown now the longest in history, it’s anyone’s guess as to what comes next. Elsewhere in DC:

• A group of Democratic representatives introduced legislation to ban private equity providers from participating in Medicare. As with most partisan bills along these lines, which are extremely unlikely to pass Congress as written, the primary goal is to act as a messaging bill for the priorities of the Congressional members who sponsor the Legislation.

  
  

• Things are picking up steam on the Reconciliation front, with budget committee chairs getting together to draft the budget resolution that starts the process, but challenges remain.

  
  

• Another key House Republican is retiring, bringing the total up to 36 on their way out. Democrats are facing their own challenges.

  
  

• Another Democratic win in a special election, this time for the district where Mar-a-Lago is located, is the 30th seat Dems have flipped since 2025.

  
  

• Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt appointed Alan Armstrong, an energy executive, to serve out the rest of former Senator MarkWayne Mullin’s term, following Mullin’s departure to lead DHS.

  
  

• Companies are starting to staff up on Democratic-aligned lobbying firms to prepare for the possibility that Democrats take back control of one of the Congressional chambers in November.

  
  

• We’ve often talked about prediction markets as a way of gauging public sentiment. Well, Kalshi is launching new “guardrails” that block politicians, athletes, and others from trading on the platform. It comes as lawmakers launched bipartisan legislation to block members of Congress and the Executive Branch from trading on the platforms.

  
  

• Two useful CRS reports from the week:

1. R48536: An updated guide for Congressional offices on where to find information and data on Medicaid enrollment.

2. R48191: An updated guide for Congressional offices on helping connect constituents with health information. It’s useful to see how Congressional offices view the healthcare ecosystem.

AGENCIES:

The Department of Labor announced a new proposed rule that changes the prevailing wage methodology for H1-B visas. The proposed rule can be found at the Federal Register, where comments can be submitted through May 26th. Please consult with your immigration attorneys as to the specific impact this may have on you.

HHS & CMS announced the members of a new “Healthcare Advisory Committee” tasked with advising the agencies on how to improve healthcare financing & delivery across federal health programs.

Perhaps only of interest to the IT folk, but the FCC announced a ban on the purchase and usage of new foreign-made consumer routers.

The FTC announced a settlement in their case against CVS Health in their suit against the PBM for artificially inflating the price of insulin. The legal filing for the proposed settlement is here (PDF). This is a good summary of what is known about the settlement.

The Department of Labor launched a free AI literacy course for American workers, designed to teach folks on how to use AI safely, productively, and responsibly.

The DOJ is suing New York-Presbyterian hospital for anti-competitive clauses in their insurance contracts that preclude insurers and employers from offering several types of health insurance plans. Here’s a good summary of the suit.

FROM THE NOTEBOOK:

• The full budget details for New Jersey Governor Sherill’s first budget are live. The 618-page budget book can be found here (PDF). As a reminder, this is the opening salvo. Now the Legislature gets to weigh in and the real work starts.

• Y’know who thinks New York needs to invest more in their SNF’s? Many of the state’s legislators.

  
  

• A new study estimates that anywhere between 5 – 10 million beneficiaries might lose Medicaid coverage as a result of the OBBBA’s work requirements and increased eligibility checks. The full study is here (PDF direct download).

  
  

• Following a recent audit of CVS’ Caremark’s PBM used by Blue Cross Blue Shield by the Inspector General of the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that found the PBM overcharged the government by more than $600 million (PDF), Tennessee is exploring new legislation to regulate the PBM. The bill, HB1959, would bar a pharmacy from owning both a retail pharmacy and PBM.

  
  

• The Washington Post takes a long look at the shifting markets of Medicare Advantage.