Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
House Funding Bill Preserves Hospital Provisions, Omits Physician Pay Terms
House Republicans on March 11 passed legislation to keep the government running through Sept. 30 and extend several critical healthcare provisions that were due to expire March 31. The continuing resolution, which passed the House in a 217-213 vote, would: Eliminate the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts through Sept. 30; Extend certain telehealth waivers and the hospital-at-home program through Sept. 30; Expand the enhanced low-volume adjustment program through Sept. 30 and the Medicare-dependent hospital program through Oct. 1; Extend add-on payments for rural ambulance services through Oct. 1. (Condon, 3/11)
The bill from Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., is called Tylers Law, named after a California teenager who died following a fentanyl overdose. (Tsirkin, 3/11)
The Senate on Tuesday approved Gail Slater, President Trumps nominee to lead the Justice Department antitrust division, by a vote of 78-19. Ms. Slater, a veteran tech and media lawyer, has pledged to be skeptical of corporate power across the economy, and has been particularly critical of power in the tech industry. (McCabe, 3/11)
A Republican lawmaker abruptly adjourned a congressional hearing on Tuesday after being challenged for referring to Representative Sarah McBride, Democrat of Delaware and the first openly transgender lawmaker in Congress, as a man. (Karni, 3/11)
