The Duke Health federal government relations team traveled to DC for the Congressional Swearing-In Day on January 3 and visited the offices of all our new members and many of our returning members.
The Rundown
- Congress begins organizing itself for the next two years after some end of year funding drama
- Members lay groundwork for new GME and Cures 2.1 policy
- What’s up NC delegation?
- From our desks
- Join the Duke Health Advocacy Network!
Federal Updates
The 118th Congress ends, and the 119th begins
We hope you enjoyed a nice, quiet holiday season and new year. Congress was also hoping for that. Instead, Congress did what Congress does, which included passing a new government funding bill late into the night as the current continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government was expiring. Then 2025 started with some drama around the reelection of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the new Congress convened on January 3. But thankfully for all parties involved, that’s all behind us (for now).
The new CR funds the government at current spending levels until March 14, and included the extension of several telehealth provisions until March 31. This funding deal unfortunately left out a broader healthcare package that included the Advance Payment Model bonus at 3.5 percent, addressing cuts to physicians under the Physician Fee Schedule, reauthorization of the Pandemic All Hazards Preparedness Act as well as legislation to strengthen substance use-disorder prevention and treatment (the SUPPORT Act), and the Accelerating Kids Access to Care Act. There is conversation amongst Republican committee leadership that this package, plus the telehealth extensions, will move forward as either a standalone package or possibly some components can be included in a broader reconciliation bill in the next few months. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), the new chair of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, said this week that “we’re going to make sure it happens. My hope is we’ll be able to put it together and rush it through as soon as possible.”
As members and committees figure out what’s next, Congress has moved to organize itself and its committees for the next two years, while preparing for the inauguration of President-Elect Trump on January 20 and confirmation hearings on his cabinet selections.
Groundwork for new GME and Cures 2.1 policy
Before breaking for the holidays, Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced draft legislation focused on Graduate Medical Education (GME). The draft follows a proposal from the Medicare GME Working Group’s previous proposal, on which Duke Health provided feedback.
According to the press release, the legislation “aims to help increase our supply of physicians and meet the growing needs of communities across the country.” Duke Health is working on providing the requested feedback on the latest proposal.
In addition, on December 24, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and now retired Rep. Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-IN) released next steps for Cures 2.1 and the 21st Century Cures initiative. Duke Health responded to the request for feedback over the summer on the next iteration of the policy.
In the press release, Rep. DeGette said that the latest proposal builds on the success of previous Cures legislation and is vital to further the innovation that is necessary in health care. Rep. DeGette pointed to the information they received from stakeholders as helping to lay the groundwork for further bipartisan achievement in health care discovery, development, and delivery heading into the new Congress. Here are links to the full white paper and summary.
What’s up NC delegation?
With a new Congress comes new members and new committee assignments. Below are some of the recent announcements for members of the NC delegation. We anticipate more announcements in the coming days as the committees finalize their organization.
- Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) was appointed to the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee; Finance Committee; Judiciary Committee; and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
- Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) was appointed to the Senate Armed Services Committee; Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee; and Joint Economic Committee. He will no longer serve on the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee.
- Rep. Addison McDowell (R-NC-06) was appointed to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.
- Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC-08) was appointed to the House Judiciary Committee and the House Agriculture Committee.
- Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-09) was named Chairman of the Energy and Commerce (E&C) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. He will no longer serve on the Health Subcommittee.
- Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC-10) was appointed to the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
- Rep. Brad Knott (R-NC-13) was appointed to the House Judiciary Committee, House Homeland Security Committee, and the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.
- Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC-14) was appointed to the House Financial Services Committee.
From our desks
Last week, our team traveled to DC for the Congressional Swearing-In Day on January 3 and visited the offices of all our new members and many of our returning members. It was a great opportunity to welcome them to the delegation and share some of Duke Health’s priorities in the new Congress.
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