Health Care Watch: March 10, 2025
The following Federal Health Policy (FHP) Strategies Weekly Health Care Watch provides a summary of legislative and regulatory health care activities from March 2 – March 9. Where available, hyperlinks are included to the relevant documents. Please let us know if you have any questions or would like additional information on the items below.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
House
On March 4, Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-TX) died at the age of 70.
On March 5, the House passed H.R. 919, the Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act. The legislation would codify chronic disease management flexibilities to encourage employers to offer high-value health care services that would not be subject to a deductible as part of a high-deductible health care plan options.
On March 8, House Republicans unveiled legislation to fund the government through September 30, 2025. Government funding expires on March 14. Included in this package is a series of health care extender policies that would also be extended through the end of FY2025. The extenders policies expire on March 31. Notably, the bill would extend Medicare telehealth flexibilities through September 30, 2025, but did not include a provision to avert Medicare physician payment cuts. The House is expected to bring this measure to the floor the week of March 10. It is unclear whether GOP leadership has the votes to pass this legislation, which may not attract Democrat support.
Senate
On March 2, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to Dr. Marty Makary, President Trump’s nominee to serve as Commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, President Trump’s nominee to serve as Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), asking that the nominees address potential conflicts of interest and to abstain from lobbying for or joining the industries they will regulate for four years after they leave office, should they be confirmed. Dr. Makary has stated that he would divest from a variety of companies.
On March 5, the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing to consider the nomination of Dr. Bhattacharya to serve as Director of NIH. During the hearing, Dr. Bhattacharya discussed steps he would take to revamp the agency, if confirmed, including focusing research on chronic diseases and establishing a “culture of respect for free speech in science and scientific dissent.” The HELP Committee willvote on Dr. Bhattacharya’s nomination on March 13.
On March 6, the HELP Committee held a hearing to consider the nomination of Dr. Makary to serve as FDA Commissioner. During the hearing, Dr. Makary discussed vaccines and vaccine advisory committees, stating that he would convene the agency's vaccine advisory committee, but not committing to rescheduling a previously canceled meeting to discuss seasonal flu vaccine composition. The HELP Committee will vote on Dr. Makary’s nomination on March 13.
On March 6, HELP Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called for a formal committee investigation into the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and a subpoena of Elon Musk to testify before the committee.
On March 6, Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Angus King (I-ME) sent aletter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Stephanie Carlton seeking information about the number of employees who have been fired, their roles, and how the agency determined which employees should be fired. The letter also requests information on further staffing reductions at the agency.
On March 7, the Finance Committee announced that it will hold a confirmation hearing on March 14 to consider Dr. Mehmet Oz’s nomination to serve as CMS Administrator.
Senate Democrats are working to reach unanimous consent in their chamber to pass the bipartisan, bicameral health package that was scrapped in December 2024. The bill includes pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform as well as extensions of telehealth and hospital-at-home rules and flexibilities. Finance Committee Ranking Member Wyden stated that Senate Democrats are ready to pass the bipartisan health care priorities, and he hopes the Senate can move swiftly towards passage.
REGULATORY UPDATE
On March 3, Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released astatement regarding the measles outbreak in Texas. Secretary Kennedy stated that in response to the outbreak, he has directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to work closely with the Texas health authorities to provide comprehensive support, including offering technical assistance, laboratory support, vaccines, and therapeutic medications as needed.
On March 3, top HHS spokesperson Thomas Corry resigned over concerns about HHS Secretary RFK Jr.'s leadership and measles outbreak response. Corry announced that he had resigned just two weeks after joining the department as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
On March 3, Steve Posnack was named HHS Acting Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy.
On March 3, FDA approved the first generics of Xarelto (rivaroxaban), 2.5 mg, tablets to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in adult patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and to reduce the risk of major thrombotic vascular events in adult patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), including patients who have recently undergone a lower extremity revascularization procedure due to symptomatic PAD.
On March 3, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released the application for new members to join the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Board of Directors. The OPTN Board is the governing body that oversees and participates in policy development for OPTN operations. The Board is responsible for oversight of organ allocation policies, OPTN membership criteria, and OPTN management and membership policies. Applications are due April 4, 2025.
On March 4, CMS issued an informational bulletin rescinding previous guidance on health-related social needs (HRSNs) in State Medicaid programs and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP). The bulletin stated that CMS will continue to consider states’ applications to cover these services on a case-by-case basis.
On March 4, HHS received authorization from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to offer voluntary early retirement to eligible employees. Eligible employees must apply by March 14 and be at least 50 years old with at least 20 years of federal service, or any age with at least 25 years of federal service.
On March 4, CDC announced that its Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) is on the ground in Texas to help the state and local governments gain control over the ongoing measles outbreak.
On March 5, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the Trump Administration from cutting NIH payments for research overhead. The order halts implementation of a cap on payments for NIH indirect costs, including facility and administrative fees linked to research, while the judge hears full arguments in three lawsuits.
On March 5, CMS released a statement alerting providers of quality and safety concerns associated with “harmful, medical interventions for gender dysphoria” and their obligation to protect American children from “often irreversible chemical and surgical mutilation, including interventions that cause sterilization.” CMS also stated that it will begin taking steps to align its policies and regulations with medical evidence to safeguard children from often irreversible experiments.
On March 5, the Supreme Court refused the Trump Administration's request to lift a lower-court's order requiring the government to pay, quickly, nearly $2 billion that contractors and aid groups were owed for U.S.-backed foreign aid projects. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett siding with the Court’s liberal justices.
On March 5, the Trump Administration withdrew from a yearslong lawsuit with Idaho over the right to an abortion in a medical emergency, marking a reversal from the Biden Administration’s efforts to clarify that federal directives on emergency health care, under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act(EMTALA), take precedence over state abortion bans.
WHITE HOUSE
On March 3, President Trump implemented tariffs on Canada and Mexico under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). President Trump stated that the tariffs are being introduced to combat the threat to U.S. national security, including threats to U.S. public health, posed by unchecked drug trafficking. Mexico and Canada will be charged with a 25% tariff on all products coming into the United States. On March 6, President Trump announced that he will exempt from tariffs most goods coming into the U.S. from Mexico (those that are compliant under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)) and auto-related imports from Canada that comply with the trade deal for a month until April 2, 2025.
On March 4, President Trump made his first address to Congress in his second term. President Trump discussed HHS Secretary Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) campaign, stating that the agency will work to examine increasing rates of childhood cancer, toxins in food and the environment, and rates of autism among children. President Trump did not otherwise mention health care in his address.
On March 6, according to two Administration officials, President Trump convened his Cabinet, telling them that, ultimately, they are in charge of their department, not Elon Musk. President Trump stated that Musk has been empowered to make recommendations to departments, but not to issue unilateral decisions on staffing and policy.
A list of all administrative and health care-related EOs can be found here. FHP Strategies will update this document, as needed.
RULES AT THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT & BUDGET (OMB)
Pending Review
CMS
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Individual Health Insurance Market and Exchange Program Integrity (CMS-9884); Proposed Rule; 2/11/25
Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals; the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System; and FY 2026 Rates (CMS-1833); Proposed Rule; 2/14/25
FY 2026 Hospice Wage Index, Payment Rate Update, and Quality Reporting Requirements (CMS-1835); Proposed Rule; 2/20/25
Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, and Medicare Cost Plan Programs, and PACE (CMS-4208); Final Rule; 3/6/25
HEARINGS
House
Ways & Means Committee
Health Subcommittee
March 11; 2:00 PM; 1100 Longworth
Hearing on After the Hospital: Ensuring Access to Quality Post-Acute Care
Senate
HELP Committee
March 13; 9:30 AM; 562 Dirksen
Nominees: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to serve as Director of NIH and Dr. Martin Makary to serve as FDA Commissioner
March 13; 10:00 AM; 562 Dirksen
Nomination of David Weldon to Serve as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Witness: Dr. David Weldon
Finance Committee
March 14; 10:00 AM; 215 Dirksen
Hearing to consider the nomination of Dr. Mehmet Oz to be CMS Administrator
Witness: Dr. Mehmet Oz
REPORTS
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
On March 5, CBO released a report providing information about projections of mandatory spending for the 2025–2034 period for programs, excluding Medicare, that are under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The report comes in response to a request from Energy & Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-PA). CBO stated that Medicaid outlays account for $8.2 trillion, or 93%, of mandatory outlays for the accounts that the Members asked about (totaling $8.8 trillion for the 2025–2034 period). CBO examined two subtotals of projected outlays and found that outlays other than for Medicaid total $581 billion through 2034, and outlays other than for Medicaid and CHIP total $381 billion over the 10‑year period. CBO also found that outlays for all other programs total $135 billion, on net, over the period, encompassing spending for a variety of federal activities.
Office of Inspector General (OIG)
On March 6, OIG released a report examining electronic funds transfer fraud schemes in Medicare and Medicaid payments to providers. OIG found that two-thirds of surveyed entities that process payments for Medicare and Medicaid reported that they were aware of being targeted by electronic funds transfer fraud schemes, some of which were frequent or recurring. OIG also found that nearly three-fifths of surveyed Medicare and Medicaid payors expressed interest in implementing additional measures to mitigate electronic funds transfer fraud threats, but some reported challenges or barriers to implementation. OIG recommends that CMS: 1) engage Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) on improving security measures; 2) share information with State Medicaid agencies to help improve security measures; and 3) support periodic information sharing to mitigate evolving threats of electronic funds transfer fraud schemes.
ADDITIONAL POLICY NEWS
On March 6 and 7, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held its March public meetings. The Commission discussed topics including the physician fee schedule, outpatient services at critical access hospitals, Medicare insurance agents, Medigap, ground ambulance services, home health care use among MA enrollees, and special needs plans. All topics and presentations can be found here.