Insights: Policy

Fed Chair/Warsh Confirmation Process

Sen. Tillis (R-NC), a member of the Senate Banking Committee (SBC), which is responsible for confirming members of the Fed, praised President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh but signaled his continued unwillingness to vote for him until the DOJ drops its criminal investigation of Chair Powell. SBC Chair Scott (R-SC) also praised Warsh and said...

Drug Pricing/TrumpRx

The launch of the TrumpRx direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform has been delayed, though HHS Secretary Kennedy has indicated it could go live as soon as this month. There is speculation the delay is attributable to concerns relating to the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). To that end, in recent days, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a...

Medicare Drug Price Negotiations

CMS released the names of the 15 Parts B and D drugs subject to the third round of the Medicare drug price negotiation program established under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Additionally, CMS announced the first drug already included in the program which will be subject to renegotiation.

E15, Small Refinery Exemptions

As the House was wrapping up debate on FY26 government funding bills in mid-January, there was a last-minute effort (that did not succeed) to add a provision that would permanently allow for year-round E15 sales while granting an automatic 75% exemption from biofuel quotas for small refiners (SREs) beginning in 2028. During a speech in Iowa on...

Government Shutdown

Negotiations between key Republican and Democratic players in the Senate have been ongoing over the last two days to find a path forward for passing FY26 appropriations (funding) legislation for the six areas of the government that remain unresolved. Temporary funding runs out this Saturday 1/31 and if appropriations legislation is not passed by...

Medicare Advance

CMS has released the PY27 Advance Notice for the Medicare Advantage (MA) Program (also known as the Part II proposed rule, which addresses payment issues). Under the proposal, CMS proposes to increase aggregate plan payments next year by a net 0.09% relative to PY26 levels (or +$700m over PY26).