On Friday, January 19, Eric Hargan, the Acting Secretary for Health and Human Services announced the extension of “public health emergency” due to opioid addiction. It is not clear what impact the declaration, and the President’s earlier declaration has had. It allows some flexibility in the allocation of some funds in some programs, but it
No official announcement has been made but much of Washington is expecting that the Administration will release their proposed FY 2019 budget in the first week of February. That is required by law. But that budget will base program cuts and increases on what FY 2018 spending was set at, which has not yet been
On Thursday, January 18, the Administration announced the creation of the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within the HHS Office of Civil Rights. The Administration described the responsibilities of the division as promoting and protecting religious freedom in HHS programs. The Office of Civil Rights Director Roger Severino said, “Laws protecting religious freedom and conscience
On Wednesday, January 17 the Senate Finance Committee approved the nomination of Alex Azar to be the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) was the only committee member to cross party lines on the final 15 to 12 vote. Carper’s vote does not necessarily indicate he will
Today (Tuesday, January 16) marks the 108th day of the FY 2018 fiscal year without a budget and it looks that that number will continue to increase by this time next week. Even if there is a deal this week it will require a fourth CR to allocate whatever funds that are agreed upon. That
The week started with a bipartisan meeting at the White House on DACA and immigration issues in what can only be described as a meeting of mixed messages as the President bounced between various congressional members and their very different positions on the two issues. Ultimately the one thing that was taken away from the
By Brittney Gerteisen On Tuesday, January 9, the Senate HELP Committee continued their examination of the spread of opioid addiction by hearing from one witness, author Sam Quinones. Sam Quinones is the author of “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic,” an award-winning book published in 2015 that tells the story of how opiates
On Tuesday, January 9, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) held a press conference indicating that the Democrats are seeking $25 billion more in opioid funding to be spread across the current fiscal year and the 2019 fiscal year. This year’s budget includes a $500 million increase because of legislation enacted at
As reported during the December holidays, there is concern that the Administration is seeking to split up families at the boarder using child separation as a deterrent. CWLA has joined onto a joint letter by concerned groups in calling on Homeland Security to reject such policies. The new administration policy would allow for a policy
The Administration followed up on earlier reports of new work requirements under Medicaid. On Thursday, January 11, CMS unveiled guidance allowing states for the first time in Medicaid’s 52 year history to impose work requirements on people who are covered by Medicaid health insurance. Some groups are exempt such as pregnant women, disabled and elderly
