This week marks lawmakers’ final full week in Washington, DC, before the scheduled Memorial Day recess, and reconciliation remains a key focus in the Senate. Senate leadership is targeting completion of the reconciliation 2.0 package, which is still narrowly focused on border security and immigration enforcement without healthcare implications, by June 1, 2026, the date requested by President Trump.
Eyes are on the redrafting happening in the Senate after both sides met with the parliamentarian last week and heard her word on what meets the reconciliation requirements and what still needs work. With only a limited number of legislative days before recess, it remains possible that difficulty moving through the process could delay lawmakers’ planned departure.
On the election front, developments in Louisiana’s Senate primary race will have implications for the future leadership of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Sen. Cassidy (R-LA), current committee chair, lost his Senate primary runoff this weekend, prompting early speculation about who might next lead the committee. Early rumors currently center on Sen. Marshall (R-KS). Stakeholders will be closely watching the role that Senator Cassidy chooses to play for his remaining six months in the US Senate.
The House and Senate both have healthcare on their hearing agendas this week. National Institutes of Health Director Bhattacharya will testify before the Senate Appropriations Labor-Health and Human Services committee on the fiscal year 2027 budget request, and the Senate HELP Committee will hold a hearing on gender-affirming care. Across the Capitol, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to hold a markup of healthcare-related bills on Thursday, but at the time of publication that markup had not yet been noticed.
On the regulatory front, following last Friday’s long-awaited release of the final Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for the marketplaces, we now watch for the federal independent dispute resolution process operations final rule to be released, maybe as soon this week.
Today’s podcast
In this week’s Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to talk about healthcare legislation being discussed in the House and break down what Senate HELP Committee Chair Cassidy’s primary loss means for healthcare policymaking moving forward.
