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 […]
News from Washington Biden Signs $1.5 Trillion Government Funding Bill With Ukraine Aid President Biden has signed into law a sweeping $1.5 trillion bill that funds the government through September and provides billions in assistance for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. After months of negotiations, the final text of the funding bill was introduced just last […]
News from Washington Biden Signs Stopgap Funding Bill to Avert Shutdown President Biden on Friday signed legislation to fund federal government operations in the short term, averting a government shutdown before a midnight deadline. The continuing resolution Biden signed funds the government through March 15, buying time for a sweeping $1.5 trillion government funding bill […]
News from Washington Manchin Proposes Dramatically Scaled Down Version of Build Back Better Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) laid out a dramatically scaled down version of President Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan that he says he could vote for under the special budget reconciliation process. The Senator clarified he hasn’t made any formal counter proposal to the […]
News from Washington Biden Extends COVID-19 National Emergency President Joe Biden has decided to extend the designation of COVID-19 as a national emergency. The national emergency was first declared March 13, 2020, and was set to expire on March 1, 2022, had President Biden not chosen to extend it. In a Feb. 18 letter to […]
News from Washington Senate Sends Biden Bill Averting Federal Shutdown On February 17, the Senate gave final approval to legislation averting a weekend government shutdown, sending President Joe Biden a measure designed to give bipartisan bargainers more time to reach an overdue deal financing federal agencies until fall. The House easily approved the legislation a […]
News from Washington House Passes Stopgap Bill to Prevent Shutdown The House passed a stopgap measure to extend federal government funding until March 11 to prevent a shutdown when current government funding expires February 18. The Senate is expected to act swiftly on the legislation. The legislation buys congressional negotiators on both sides of the […]
HSA Compliance Corner Is Telehealth Now Disqualifying for HSA Contributors? Not Necessarily! Your insurer should have adjusted its schedule of benefits and its claims system to charge a price for virtual care and apply that price to the deductible on all plans that renew January 1, 2022 or later. Be sure to check with your […]
News from Washington Democrats Face Scaled-Back Agenda After Setbacks Democrats are confronting the reality of a scaled-back agenda as they try to move past high-profile setbacks that dominated the tail end of President Biden’s first year in office. After pledging to go “big and bold” when they were swept into power in 2021, Democrats are readjusting […]
News from Washington Biden Seeks to Save What He Can from Build Back Better President Biden this week offered a new path forward for his signature policy proposal based on a harsh truth: Not all of it will survive. The president’s concession that some of the social spending and climate change package will need to […]