Policy Updates: Hill Happenings and Administration Activities
Hill Happenings
FY2025 Appropriations
Lawmakers are running out of time to agree on a bipartisan spending package for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025) by the March 14 deadline set in place by the current continuing resolution (CR) (H.R.10445). On March 8, the House of Representatives released bill text for a full-year CR, which would extend current funding levels through the end of FY2025. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) intends to bring the CR to the House floor for a vote on March 11. However, Senate Republicans have not yet indicated that they will support the CR, complicating a unified Republican strategy to avoid a government shutdown.
Additionally, Democrats are determining whether they will attempt to block the bill in order to rein in what they see as overreach from the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has implemented mass layoffs across federal agencies and operating divisions. However, Democrats are wary about owning a government shutdown, fearing political blowback. On March 8, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) called for a short-term CR to prevent a shutdown and finish work on a bipartisan FY2025 funding bill.
NASTAD will continue to monitor the congressional appropriations process and advocate for the highest possible funding for HIV, hepatitis, and drug user health programs.
Senate HELP Committee Schedules Confirmation Hearing for CDC Director Nominee
On March 6, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) scheduled the first nomination hearing to vet the Trump Administration’s nominee for Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dave Weldon, a physician and former Congressman (R-FL-15). Echoing the confirmation hearings for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Weldon is expected to be questioned by the Committee on his views towards vaccines due to his history of promoting vaccine conspiracies, such as a conjectural link between vaccines and autism. Notably, Weldon’s nomination hearing marks the first-ever hearing for the CDC Director role, which now requires a Senate confirmation vote due to language included in the Fiscal Year 2023 spending bill.
Senate HELP Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing for FDA Commissioner, NIH Director Nominees
On March 5, the Senate HELP Committee held a nomination hearing for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director nominee, Jay Bhattacharya. Democrats grilled Bhattacharya on whether he would reverse or modify the Trump Administration’s efforts to pare down NIH grantmaking, including cuts to indirect funding rates. Bhattacharya defended the Administration’s approach and promoted a decentralized vision for future health research at NIH. Additionally, Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) probed Bhattacharya’s views on vaccine safety and questioned whether he would spend federal research dollars to study a conjectural link between vaccines and autism if confirmed.
Additionally, the HELP Committee held a nomination hearing for the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner nominee, Marty Makary, on March 6. The Committee probed Makary’s commitments to restructuring vaccine safety and advisory panels at FDA and gauged his support for the Trump Administration’s mass firings across federal health agencies, including FDA.
Both nominations will go to the Senate floor for a full vote on March 13.
Administration Activities
CMS Rescinds Biden-era Health-Related Social Needs Guidance for State Medicaid Programs
On March 4, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rescinded programmatic guidance that authorized states to utilize Medicaid funding to address health-related social needs (HRSN) for its beneficiaries. The Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) Center Informational Bulletin (CIB) formally rescinds a 2023 CIB, Coverage of Services and Supports to Address Health-Related Social Needs in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and a 2024 CIB, Coverage of Services and Supports to Address Health-Related Social Needs in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Program. The Trump Administration will now review state waiver applications to cover HRSN on a rolling basis to determine if programs meet federal requirements. Although the new CIB does not negate existing approvals and has no immediate impact on existing HRSN programs, the policy move may be a signal of the Trump Administration’s intent to rein in coverage and spending through the Medicaid program.
Resources
KFF: What are President Trump’s Executive Actions Impacting LGBTQ+ Health?
“KFF’s new guide highlights President Trump’s Executive Actions that directly address or affect health programs, efforts, or policies designed to meet the health needs of LGBTQ+ people. These actions cover a range of federal agencies and policies and, in general, seek to eliminate federal diversity initiatives, narrowly define sex and sex-based protections, and limit access to gender affirming care. The guide describes when the Executive Action was first taken, its potential impact, and examines follow-up actions, including litigation efforts; it will be updated to reflect additional actions and developments as needed.”
Health Management Associates: FAQ – Opioid Reversal Products
“This FAQ provides guidance on naloxone purchasing decisions and address misconceptions about naloxone dosing. The FAQ highlights the connection between naloxone dosing and withdrawal. It also provides clear and concise explanations gathered from leading experts on the range of available products and the existing evidence base on dosage considerations.”
Job Postings
Executive Director of Programs – New York City, NY
The New York City Health Department is seeking an Executive Director of Programs to join its Bureau of Hepatitis, HIV, and STIs (BHHS). The Executive Director of Programs will provide day-to-day oversight and operational support to BHHS’s HIV Care and Treatment Program, HIV Epidemiology Program, HIV Prevention Program, STI Program, and Viral Hepatitis Program, which comprise the majority of the bureau’s staff. The Executive Director of Programs will report to BHHS’s Assistant Commissioner and work alongside the Assistant Commissioner and BHHS leadership to ensure these Programs are supported to function optimally and collaboratively, and that BHHS is well-positioned to implement its strategic priorities and achieve its mission to improve the lives of New Yorkers by ending transmission, illness, stigma, and inequities related to viral hepatitis, HIV, and STIs. For more information or to apply for the position, visit the job posting on NYC Jobs, here.
Communicable Disease Epidemiologist – Cheyenne, Wyoming
This position will serve as the Communicable Disease AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Coordinator, Wyoming TB Controller, and Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS) for the Communicable Disease (CD) Treatment Program. Assist in outbreak response to ensure the safety of Wyoming residents; by interviewing cases for exposure information, updating news outlets on the progress of outbreak control, analyzing exposure data utilizing epidemiological and statistical methods.
News Bulletin
Most Trump voters oppose Medicaid cuts: Poll
“A majority of Americans, including people who voted for President Trump in November, do not want to see Medicaid funding cut, according to a poll from KFF released Friday. More than 80 percent of respondents, including majorities of Democrats, Republicans, independents, Trump voters, and adults living in rural areas, said Medicaid funding should either increase or be kept about the same. The findings underscore the potential political peril facing congressional Republicans as they decide how deep to cut the social safety net to pay for much of Trump’s agenda, including an extension of tax cuts.”
CDC Firings Undermine Public Health Work Far Beyond Washington
“The Trump administration’s sudden firing of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees gutted training programs across the nation whose participants bolstered the workforce of state and local public health departments that for decades have been starved of resources. The programs are designed to cultivate a new generation of public health leaders, many of whom have gone on to work at the CDC. That was far from its only purpose. Local and state officials said the departures threaten to undermine the nation’s constant effort to identify and control infectious disease outbreaks.”
Deadliest phase of fentanyl crisis eases, as all states see recovery
“The deadliest phase of the street fentanyl crisis appears to have ended, as drug deaths continue to drop at an unprecedented pace. For the first time, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have now seen at least some recovery. A new analysis of U.S. overdose data conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also found that the decline in deaths began much earlier than once understood, suggesting improvements may be sustainable.”