Bipartisan Health Law Stabilization Measure Shut Out Of $1.3 Trillion Spending Bill
In the early days of negotiations, there was hope that the legislation would make it into the final budget bill, but anti-abortion language became a deal-breaker for both sides. Lawmakers who worked on the package expressed their disappointment "that an opportunity to lower health insurance rates by up to 40 percent for working Americans has turned into a debate about the mechanics of funding for abortion coverage." Outlets look at what else made it into the spending bill.
The Associated Press:
Leaders Finalize US Budget Bill; Voting Could Begin Thursday
Congressional leaders have finalized a sweeping $1.3 trillion budget bill that substantially boosts military and domestic spending but leaves behind young immigrant "Dreamers," deprives President Donald Trump some of his border wall money and takes only incremental steps to address gun violence. (3/22)
The Washington Post:
Here’s What Congress Is Stuffing Into Its $1.3 Trillion Spending Bill
Left out of the bill was a health-care measure sought by GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) that would have allowed states to establish high-risk pools to help cover costly insurance claims while restoring certain payments to insurers under the Affordable Care Act. Trump, who ended the “cost-sharing reduction” payments in the fall, supported the Collins-Alexander language. But Democrats opposed it because they claimed it included language expanding the existing prohibition on federal funding for abortions. (DeBonis, O'Keefe and Werner, 3/21)
Modern Healthcare:
Stabilization Out, ACA Oversight In: A Look At Congress' Spending Omnibus
Of the $88 billion HHS appropriation announced Wednesday night, not a penny is going toward Obamacare. Instead, Congress is slapping oversight requirements on HHS regarding its administration of the health exchanges. Congressional leaders released the long-awaited $1.3 trillion, two-year spending omnibus after days of wrangling behind closed doors over contentious policies that included an embattled stabilization package for the individual market that would fund cost-sharing reduction payments and a $30 billion reinsurance pool. (Luthi, 3/21)
The Washington Post:
Congressional Negotiators Reach Deal On $1.3 Trillion Spending Bill Ahead Of Friday Government Shutdown Deadline
The release of the 2,000-plus-page bill Wednesday evening, after a two-day delay, touched off a legislative sprint as lawmakers try to pass it before Friday night, the deadline to avoid a government shutdown. And with a key senator unwilling to say whether he would agree to accelerate the deal’s consideration, it remained uncertain whether they would be able to meet the challenge. (DeBonis and Werner, 3/21)
The Wall Street Journal:
Congressional Leaders Finalize Spending Deal
“No bill of this size is perfect,” House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) said in a statement Wednesday night. “But this legislation addresses important priorities and makes us stronger at home and abroad.” (Peterson and Meckler, 3/22)
The Hill:
Funding Bill Gives $3 Billion Boost For NIH Medical Research
The government funding bill unveiled Wednesday night boosts funding for medical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $3 billion, an investment touted by both parties. The increase, which brings total funding for the fiscal year to $37 billion, is a reflection of the bipartisan support for the NIH. (Sullivan, 3/21)
The Hill:
Congress To Boost Opioid Treatment, Prevention Dollars
Congress is adding a several billion dollar boost to the omnibus in order to combat the opioid epidemic — an effort to bolster prevention, treatment and law enforcement initiatives to combat the crisis killing thousands of people each year. The $1.3 trillion spending package allocates around $4 billion to the opioid epidemic, much of which is new money appropriated this year. (Roubein, 3/21)
Stat:
The Donut Hole: Drug Makers Fail In Bid To Change Law On Medicare Costs
Congress has rebuffed drug companies’ appeals to reduce how much they have to pay for some seniors’ prescription costs — a rare defeat for the industry after a frenzied lobbying campaign. Drug makers had pressed Republicans to use a sprawling appropriations deal to roll back a policy that makes them responsible for 70 percent of the prescription costs for seniors who reach the so-called “donut hole” in 2019. The “donut hole” is a gap in Medicare drug coverage in which beneficiaries are on the hook for sky-high prescription costs, up to a certain dollar amount. (Mershon, 3/21)
Politico:
Modest Gun Measure Set To Hitch A Ride On Spending Package
Congressional leaders — at the urging of President Donald Trump — have reached a tentative deal to pass modest gun legislation as part of a broader spending package, three sources familiar with the talks told POLITICO on Wednesday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) endorsed the inclusion of narrow, bipartisan legislation aimed at improving records and information-sharing in the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System — even though gun control advocates say the provision barely moves the needle on firearms restrictions. (Bade, Everett, Ferris and Caygle, 3/21)