Appropriations Update – The House of Representatives is expected to vote under suspension of the rules this week on the Senate-passed continuing resolution (H.R. 6500) to fund the federal government through December 11. The bill would block the Office of Management and Budget’s proposed rule regarding federal financial assistance from taking effect during the length of the stopgap, and would delay a ban on intoxicating hemp products, which is set to go into effect November 12. The White House has issued a statement of administration policy backing the Senate-passed bill.
New MFN Deals Expected from Trump Administration – The White House is expected to announce a new slate of most-favored-nation (MFN) deals with several midsized biotech companies as early as Monday of this week. The agreements reportedly involve discounts on outpatient drugs for state Medicaid programs to keep prices aligned with those charged in foreign countries. The Trump administration has already signed confidential MFN agreements with 17 pharmaceutical companies.
Senate Republicans Release Report on Chemical Abortion Companies – Senate Republicans have released a new report on the business practices of chemical abortion companies and prescribing patterns of mifepristone. The report, led by Sens. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and the late Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), asserts that Danco, GenBioPro, and Evita have not taken sufficient steps to ensure that certified prescribers and pharmacies comply with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) requirements for chemical abortion drugs, particularly when the pills are sold online. Since the 2016 removal of the requirement for prescribers to report non-fatal adverse events to the mifepristone sponsor, the total number of adverse events reported to the FDA has dropped from over 4,000 events between 2000 and 2016 to only 150 events in the time that followed. The report’s authors have since raised questions about whether adverse events are being undercounted.
Darline Graham Wins GOP Runoff Race – Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) won the South Carolina Senate GOP primary on Tuesday, defeating Rep. Ralph Norman in the runoff election. She will replace her late brother, Lindsey Graham, on the ballot in November as the Republica nominee. Sen. Graham will face Annie Andrews, MD, the Democratic nominee and a pediatrician, in November.
Georgia’s 13th District Special Election Runoff – Everton Blair (D) has won the special election runoff for Georgia’s 13th Congressional District, defeating Marcy Scott to complete the remainder of her father’s term. Blair will serve through January 3, 2027, filling the seat left vacant after Rep. David Scott’s death in April. The District will have new representation in the upcoming 120th Congress since neither Blair nor Scott are running in the general election.
MedPAC 2026-2027 Analytic Agenda – The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has announced its analytic agenda for its 2026-2027 meeting cycle. Issues the commission plans to consider include:
- Recent trends in Part D spending and the effects of the 2025 Part D benefit redesign;
- Recent trends in access to pharmacies;
- Processes and information involved in beneficiary enrollment in Medicare, and opportunities to simplify the enrollment experience and better support beneficiaries as they enroll in Medicare;
- Whether Medicare’s quality measurement and value-based payment programs are improving quality and providing value for the Medicare program, with a particular focus on clinician quality measurement programs;
- Accuracy of Medicare payments to skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies;
- Trends in Part B drug utilization and spending;
- Hospice use patterns and effects on Medicare spending;
- Medicare’s payments for software as a medical service and prescription digital therapeutics;
- Cost-sharing liability for services furnished by rural health clinics and the effects of converting to a rural emergency hospital on provider financial performance and beneficiary access to care;
- Average generosity of medical benefits in Medicare Advantage (MA) relative to fee-for-service (FFS), and how MA enrollees’ out-of-pocket spending on premiums and health care services compare to what their spending would have been in FFS;
- How MA enrollees use different types and amounts of post-acute care services; and
- How MA plans pay providers for care.
MedPAC will convene its first public meeting of the new cycle on September 3-4.
Upcoming Congressional Hearings and Markups
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade markup including H.R.____, Open-Source AI Leadership Act; H.R. ____, American Quantum Competitiveness Act; and H.R. 7945, Nitrous Oxide Safety Act; 10:15 a.m.; September 1
House Ways and Means Committee hearing “Strategic Partnerships to Secure Critical Resources and Supply Chain;” 10:00 a.m.; September 2
House Veterans’ Affairs Committee oversight hearing “Beyond Go-Live: VA Electronic Health Record Modernization Status Update;” 10:00 a.m.; September 2
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Recently Introduced Health Legislation
H.R.10140 — SPF Act of 2026; Sponsor: Dingell, Debbie [Rep.-D-MI-6]; Committees: House – Natural Resources
H.R.10145 — SOUND Pesticide Research Act; Sponsor: Mace, Nancy [Rep.-R-SC-1]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.10147 — To amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule for the United States to establish a new subheading in chapter 39 for silicone prosthetics for women who are breast cancer survivors and a new subheading in chapter 90 for mastectomy bras; Sponsor: Miller, Carol D. [Rep.-R-WV-1]; Committees: House – Ways and Means
H.R.10148 — Safeguarding America’s Nonprofits Act; Sponsor: Steube, W. Gregory [Rep.-R-FL-17]; Committees: House – Ways and Means
H.Res.1491 — Expressing support for the designation of the week of August 25 through August 31, 2026, as “Black Breastfeeding Week”; Sponsor: Adams, Alma S. [Rep.-D-NC-12]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.10150 — To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide a period of market exclusivity for botanical drugs, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Boebert, Lauren [Rep.-R-CO-4]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.10160 — To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve mental health care for veterans through the establishment of a minimum requirement for the number of Vet Centers per State; Sponsor: Kean, Thomas H. [Rep.-R-NJ-7]; Committees: House – Veterans’ Affairs
H.R.10161 — To amend the Public Health Service Act to require States to prohibit the sale of certain products containing nitrous oxide as a condition on receipt of block grants for community mental health services, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Kean, Thomas H. [Rep.-R-NJ-7]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.10177 — Competition in State Healthcare Markets Act; Sponsor: Spartz, Victoria [Rep.-R-IN-5]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce