Insights: Policy

Pharmaceutical Advertising

Stakeholders opposed to direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising are pressing the FDA to go further than the administration’s planned regulatory changes, with Public Citizen filing a citizen petition this week asking the FDA to impose an outright ban on DTC advertising of prescription drugs. Separately, the FDA, as part of the...

CLARITY Act/Crypto Market Structure

Senate Republicans yesterday released an updated draft of the CLARITY Act (crypto market structure legislation) that combines components passed by the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees, as well as adds other provisions. The most visible modification to the prior version of the bill was to add an ethics provision. The draft was intended...

Tech / Media / Telecom

Export Controls/Semiconductors, Chinese Cloud Computing/Open-Source

Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chair Wicker (R-MS) has filed his “manager’s amendment" to the annual defense policy bill (NDAA). Wicker’s manager’s amendment contains three pieces of legislation that restrict technology exports to China: the AI Overwatch Act (Sec. 6243, restricts advanced semiconductor exports), the MATCH Act (Sec. 6040,...

Medicare FFS Prior Authorization (WISeR Model)

The Senate rejected S.J. Res. 198 (on a party-line 46–50 vote), a Democratic Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would have overturned CMS’s implementation of the WISeR Model.

Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Reimbursement

CMS released the CY27 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule. The rule proposes a conversion factor of $33.17 for qualifying APM participants, a -1.19% reduction from CY26, and $32.84 for other clinicians, a -1.68% reduction. Comments are due September 14, with the final rule due in ~October or November.

Energy Permitting Reform

Senate negotiations over energy permitting reform legislation are intensifying, with Republicans having made an offer to Democrats in recent days that includes proposals to streamline environmental and historical preservation reviews, ease transmission permitting, and codify several Republican permitting reform priorities. That offer is being...