Capitol Hill has been quiet this month, with both chambers of Congress having adjourned for August recess and not scheduled to reconvene until September 9. Congress has until the end of the fiscal year on September 30 to pass government funding legislation and avoid a federal government shutdown. Lawmakers are expected to spend the weeks leading up to the end of the month negotiating a continuing resolution to extend funding at current levels and keep the government open. Shortly before leaving for recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee amended and voted 25-3 to advance its fiscal year (FY) 2025 Labor-Health and Human Services (LHHS) spending bill. The Committee recommended $310.4 million for Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs, a $5 million (1.6%) increase over currently enacted levels directed to the Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Program. The other Title VIII programs would be maintained at FY 2024 funding levels, including funding for the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Diversity Program. This is in contrast to the House of Representative’s LHHS spending bill, which would eliminate funding for the diversity program.

Members of the Senate’s bipartisan 340B working group were not successful in introducing legislation to reform the 340B drug pricing program prior to the August recess. The delay stemmed from unresolved but unspecified disagreements between Republican and Democratic members of the working group. In a statement, GOP members of the group Sens. John Thune (S.D.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), and Shelley Moore Capito (W-Va.) acknowledged that more time is necessary “to get this across the finish line.”

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is following up with executives of the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry following the testimony of CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx before the panel during a July hearing. Comer accuses the companies of making false statements that are inconsistent with the conclusions reached by both the committee and the Federal Trade Commission. During the hearing, the PBMs repeatedly denied that they steer patients to affiliated pharmacies and offer such pharmacies preferential payment rates. Comer has requested that the executives “correct the record” by September 11. In related news, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has responded to questions for the record from the House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) following a hearing on hospital and physician consolidation and its impact on the federal budget. In its response, CBO clarified that the vertical integration of PBMs with health insurers does not guarantee reduced premiums for plan enrollees. Although this consolidation might lead to lower drug prices within these health plans, these savings may not be reflected in lower premiums for enrollees. Additionally, industry consolidation may also increase drug costs and premiums for other insurers that use the same PBM.

As a reminder, if you’d like to become more involved in our advocacy work, please drop us a line: advocacy@rnsnurse.org.