Washington DC Update News
Below are recent articles from the Washington DC Update newsletter, a weekly Family Voices newsletter that provides the latest on national policy affecting children/youth with special health care needs and their families, and also shares relevant resources and happenings in the field.
Washington Update: Affordable Care Act (ACA) (7/11/18)
CMS to Withhold Risk-Adjustment Payments to Insurers On Saturday, July 7, CMS announced that it will not be making the "risk adjustment" payments to insurers as prescribed by the ACA. This decision was based on a February 28, 2018, court ruling that bars the current...
Washington Update: TRICARE (7/11/2018)
Moving this Summer? Your TRICARE Options May Change (TRICARE Benefits Update, 6/27/18) Moving is a Qualifying Life Event (QLE). It doesn’t change your TRICARE eligibility, but it may change your TRICARE health plan options. Summer Travel: Getting Care While Overseas...
Washington Update: Your Input Sought (7/11/2018)
NEW Best Practices in Guardianship @SenateAging is taking comment on best practices in guardianship through July 20, 2018, to inform a report they are producing. Email comment@aging.senate.gov. Topics include data collection, avoiding exploitation by guardians,...
Washington Update Summary: July 3, 2018
Greetings from Washington! Last week was a busy one in Congress, the courts, and the administration. The House rejected an immigration bill, and a Senate committee approved some maternal and child health bills. One federal court ordered the administration to stop...
Week of July 3, 2018: Upcoming Webinars and Calls in the Field
Leveraging Digital Tools to Treat Patients along the Continuum of Care Wednesday, July 11, 2:00-3:00 ET FierceHealthCare/Appian (one presenter is from Nemours Children’s Hospital) Adverse Childhood Experiences: Implications for Policymakers and Practitioners...
The Courts: Federal Court Invalidates Approval of Kentucky Waiver to Establish Medicaid Work Requirements
The state of Kentucky requested a waiver from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries. CMS approved the state’s request. On June 29, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated...
The Administration: Family Separations at the Border
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has custody of over 2000 children who were separated from their parents after crossing the border illegally since May. The president issued an Executive Order on June 20 to end the...
The Administration: White House Proposed Government Reorganization
As reported in last week’s Update, the White House has revealed a plan to reorganize and merge several departments of the federal government. See the White House Fact Sheet. Not mentioned last week: part of this reorganization plan would be to reduce the Public Health...
Congress: Immigration Legislation
On June 27 the House voted on immigration legislation that would have provided funding for a border wall, addressed the separation of immigrant families, and provided a path to citizenship for the so-called DREAMers (young adults who were brought to the country...
Congress: Opioid Legislation
On June 21, the House approved the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment or for Patients and Communities Act – or SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (H.R. 6) – which consolidated multiple previously passed bills. See...
Encourage confidence to act