The House Ways and Means Committee convened a markup of seven bills including proposals on caregivers, payment for remote patient monitoring and anesthesiologist services in rural areas, site-neutral payment for long-term care hospitals, prior authorization in Medicare Advantage, and health care transparency. The Committee favorably reported the following bills:   R. 9641, Essential Caregivers Act, by a vote of 38-0… (Llamas, July 15, 2026) #Medicare Advantage, #Rural Health, #Transparency

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report finding that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lacks sufficient safeguards to prevent unauthorized actions by agents and brokers in the federally facilitated Health Insurance Marketplace. While CMS has processes to verify that agents and brokers are eligible to participate, GAO found the agency does not adequately verify consumer authorization… (Eisen, July 13, 2026) #Health Insurance Exchanges, #Program Integrity

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest quarterly Recent Publications and Work in Progress report, showing a notable increase in the agency’s legislative workload heading into the second half of 2026. As of June 30, CBO was preparing 353 cost estimates, up from 282 three months earlier, with nearly all tied to legislation already approved by congressional committees. The… (Colocho, July 14, 2026) #Insurance Coverage, #Medicare Part D, #Prescription Drugs

Pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) issued requests for information regarding the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs. Additional information follows. FDA Public Hearing and Request for Comments: The FDA announced a public hearing on the potential future therapeutic use… (Slifer, July 13, 2026) #Mental and Behavioral Health, #Prescription Drugs

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced more than $281 million in grant funding opportunities for 15 programs designed to expand access to behavioral health, substance disorder treatment, and enhance the behavioral health workforce. Previously, the Administration released over $740 million in behavioral health grant funding after months of waiting for Notice of Funding Opportunities to be released by… (Marceno, July 8, 2026) #Grants, #Mental and Behavioral Health, #Opioids

House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) released a new report examining the state of maternity care one year after enactment of H.R. 1, arguing that reductions in federal Medicaid funding are contributing to the closure of labor and delivery units and reductions in maternity services nationwide (press release). The report… (Colocho, July 8, 2026) #Coverage Decisions, #Public Health, #Women’s Health