THIS WEEK’S DOSE
- Senate Passes Budget Resolution. The “skinny” bill was put on the Senate floor shortly after President Trump expressed support for the House’s version.
- Administration’s Federal Workforce Cuts Hit HHS. Thousands of employees were let go across the divisions of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
- President Trump Issues Several EOs. The executive orders (EOs) relate to in vitro fertilization, COVID-19 vaccine mandates, independent agencies, deregulation, and the federal workforce.
- Legal Challenges Continue to Block Gender-Affirming Care EO. A federal judge issued a second 14-day stay as the court considers the legality of the order.
CONGRESS
Senate Passes Budget Resolution. Last week, the Senate and House Budget Committees each passed separate, and very different, budget resolutions as their first steps toward negotiating a unified budget resolution that must pass both bodies in order for work to proceed on reconciliation. These resolutions reflected each chamber’s preferred approach. The Senate is moving a two-part reconciliation strategy by advancing a “skinny” resolution that only addresses immigration, energy, and defense priorities (but which still may utilize healthcare as a pay for). The Senate would act later to advance a separate resolution to extend the 2017 tax cuts. The Senate’s goal is to provide President Trump with a quick win, then take the additional time members think will be necessary to pass a reconciliation package tackling tax cuts. In contrast, the House is proceeding with a budget resolution that includes tax cuts and a minimum of $1.5 trillion in spending reductions. The House approach clearly puts healthcare on the table for significant cuts. Medicaid is a particular focus given that the resolution would require the House Energy & Commerce Committee to come up with $880 billion in savings.
While the House was in recess this week, Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) scheduled a vote on the recently advanced Senate budget resolution. Then, on February 19, President Trump endorsed the House’s one-big-bill approach. The Senate still moved forward with the scheduled vote, passing the resolution 52 – 48 and indicated that doing so will provide a backstop if House efforts fail. Senator Paul (R-KY) was the only Republican to vote no.
House Republican leaders plan to bring their budget resolution to the House floor as soon as next week, but the timing is uncertain as several Republican members of Congress have expressed hesitation about supporting it. Some are Republicans in swing districts who are concerned about the magnitude of Medicaid cuts. Others are members who oppose voting to increase the debt limit, which is also included in the budget resolution.
ADMINISTRATION
Administration’s Federal Workforce Cuts Hit HHS. Over the weekend, the Trump administration reduced HHS’s workforce by several thousand employees across several agencies, including the US Food & Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health. Many who were let go had probationary status (meaning they were hired or promoted less than a year ago) or temporary status (which could include employees who have spent years in their role). The laid-off employees had worked on a variety of issues, such as Medicare and Medicaid quality initiatives, medical device approvals, public health preparedness, and artificial intelligence. At this time, there is no transparency as to the positions eliminated or even the overall counts. Per a recent EO, the agencies could be restricted from adding staff, as the EO permits hiring of no more than one employee for every four employees that depart.
President Trump Issues Several EOs. The administration continues to highlight and implement its agenda through EOs. Relevant EOs issued this week include the following:
- IVF. This EO directs the assistant to the president for domestic policy to submit a list of policy recommendations to protect in vitro fertilization (IVF) access and reduce the out-of-pocket and health plan costs for the treatment. The fact sheet can be found here. Like many other EOs, additional steps would need to be taken before any changes occurred.
- COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates. This EO mandates the withholding of federal funds from educational entities that require students to receive a COVID-19 vaccination to attend in-person education programs. It requires the secretaries of education and HHS to issue guidelines for compliance, a report on noncompliant entities, and a planned process for each agency’s implementation. The fact sheet can be found here. It is unclear how much practical impact this EO may have, because most of these directives have ceased to be enforced.
- Independent Agencies. This EO requires independent agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, to submit proposed regulations to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs before publication in the Federal Register. The EO directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish performance standards and management objectives for independent agencies and to review independent agency actions for consistency with the president’s priorities. The EO also states that only the president and attorney general can provide interpretations of law for the executive branch.
- Deregulation. This EO directs agency heads to work in coordination with Department of Government Efficiency team leads and OMB to review all regulations subject to their jurisdiction for consistency with law and administration policy. Within 60 days, agencies must submit to OMB a list of certain regulations, including those that are unconstitutional, are not authorized by statutory authority, and impose undue burdens on small businesses. The EO states that agencies should deprioritize actions that enforce regulations that go beyond the powers vested by the Constitution and should ensure that enforcement actions are compliant with law and administration policy. The EO also directs OMB to issue implementation guidance.
- Federal Workforce. This EO requires HHS to terminate the secretary’s advisory committee on long COVID-19, and CMS to terminate the health equity advisory committee. It also directs non-statutory components and functions of certain foreign affairs governmental entities to be eliminated, as allowed under applicable law, and directs such entities to submit a report stating whether components of the entity are statutorily required.
COURTS
Legal Challenges Continue to Block Gender-Affirming Care EO. Lawsuits continue to be filed against actions taken by the Trump administration, including EOs and other administrative announcements. This includes a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Minnesota, along with three doctors who provide gender-affirming care to youth. On February 14, a federal judge issued a two-week temporary restraining order that blocks the withholding of funds to healthcare entities that provide gender-affirming care to patients under 19. This is the second judge to take action on this EO. On February 13, another judge issued a two-week temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the EO.
QUICK HITS
- CBO Publishes Explainer on Scoring. The document explains how the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) prepares cost estimates for legislation. This process is top of mind for stakeholders as the budget reconciliation process (which is expected to include healthcare-related budgetary offsets) continues.
- Senate Democrats Send Letter to HHS Amid Workforce Cuts. All 47 Democratic Senators signed the letter, which asks HHS Secretary Kennedy to provide information about the number and characteristics of recently fired HHS employees, how the personnel decisions were made and communicated, and how these cuts will impact HHS programs and activities. The press release can be found here.
NEXT WEEK’S DIAGNOSIS
Congress will be in session next week, with the House potentially voting on its budget resolution. The Senate will continue work to confirm President Trump’s nominees, including a nomination hearing for Dan Bishop as deputy director of OMB. Health-related hearings include:
- A House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on pharmacy benefit managers.
- A House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing on electronic health record modernization.
- A House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the US Government Accountability Office’s 2025 high-risk list.
- A Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on the opioid epidemic.
We expect the administration to continue taking executive actions related to healthcare.
