Legislative Update

Both houses of Congress are back in session after their August break, but have made no progress on another pandemic-relief bill. As of this writing, it seems unlikely, but not impossible, that a bill will be passed before the election. In other news…

• Medicaid Regulations: The administration -- (1) will withdraw the proposed “Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation” that would have restricted states’ ability to fund their share of their Medicaid programs; (2) issued a proposed “Good Guidance” rule that, in effect, could rescind many federal policies governing state Medicaid programs.

• Vaccines: HHS announced that it would permit pharmacists to order and administer routine childhood immunizations to children ages 3-18; preliminary plans for the allocation and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine have been released.

•  The Census Bureau released data showing the largest annual increase in the number of uninsured children in more than a decade.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a national moratorium on rental evictions through the end of the year.

• The National Academy for State Health Policy has released a paper on State Roles in Preventing and Improving Foster Care Placements for Children with Medical Complexity

From Family Voices National Washington DC Update 9.23.20