News from Washington Prices Paid to Hospitals by Private Insurers Were 224% of What Medicare Would Pay in 2020 Prices paid to hospitals during 2020 by employers and private insurers for both inpatient and outpatient services averaged 224% of what Medicare would have paid, with substantial variation in prices among states, according to a new […]
News from Washington Biden Marks 1 Million US COVID Deaths with Demand for Congressional Spending President Biden marked 1 million US deaths from COVID-19 by insisting that Congress approve billions of dollars in new spending to boost America’s pandemic response. In March, the White House asked Congress to approve $22.5 billion to pay for COVID […]
News from Washington Momentum Builds in Senate for Major Cannabis Bill Senators on both sides of the aisle are throwing support behind a proposal to tuck key marijuana banking legislation into a larger package aimed at boosting U.S. competitiveness, increasing the odds that a significant cannabis bill gets through the upper chamber this year. […]
News from Washington Sen. Manchin: Scaled-Down Bill Should Focus on Inflation, Debt Reduction Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who late last year all but killed the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better” legislation, said on April 26 that any new Democratic budget reconciliation bill should be focused on combating inflation and reducing the deficit. Read More […]
News from Washington Democrats Prepare to Take Second Run at Biden Spending Plan Top Democrats and the White House are eyeing a revival of a stalled-out tax-and-spending bill as the party tries to show deliverables to voters heading into a November election where they are facing tough political headwinds. Democrats are signaling they want to […]
News from Washington U.S. Renews COVID-19 Public Health Emergency The federal government renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency on April 13, allowing millions of Americans to keep getting free tests, vaccines and treatments for at least three more months. The Department of Health and Human Services said that it will give states 60 days notice […]
As many of you know, I track the data needed to make inflation adjustments for Health Savings Accounts from one year to the next. I have accurately predicted the annual adjustments by the Internal Revenue Service for the past 16 years. With the April 12 release of the March inflation figures by the Bureau of […]
News from Washington Democrats Face Steep Odds in Bid to Keep Senate Democrats are staring down an increasingly difficult Senate landscape as national political headwinds threaten to sweep away what they believe is their best chance to hold at least one chamber of Congress. With hopes for holding their House majority dimming quickly, Democrats see […]
News from Washington Biden Unveils $5.8 Trillion Budget Proposal with Tax Hikes, Spending Boosts President Biden unveiled ambitious proposals to reduce the nation’s deficit over the next decade with tax hikes targeting the wealthy, while outlining boosts for military and domestic programs as part of a $5.8 trillion plan to fund the government for fiscal 2023. […]
News from Washington With Democrats’ Health Agenda Stalled, Lawmakers Turn to Insulin Democrats who have hit a wall on achieving sweeping drug price reforms are pushing a narrower policy fix they hope will bolster the midterm fortunes of key members. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced a plan on March 22 to bring legislation to the […]