ML Strategies

This week, the President's FY 2019 budget will be released, and the Administration will spend the next couple of weeks touting its goals. How this activity is received in Congress will play out in various committee hearings, as will issues like drug pricing, which the Administration is closely examining.

Today, the White House released its FY 2019 budget proposal, outlining its policy priorities for the fiscal year. In health care, the President's budget focuses on prescription drug pricing and opioid funding.

Based on the most up-to-date information on the budget deal, we have developed a new timeline for the major health care extenders. This new timeline is important because these provisions were once all tied together and now, they are not.

Late Monday night (February 5, 2018), the House of Representatives released a continuing resolution to keep the government funded and running until March 23, 2018. This CR includes many health care related provisions, specifically many of the health care “minibus” riders. In the chart below we summarize major health care provisions in this CR specific to the health care minibus.

On Wednesday, January 24, 2018, Governor Charlie Baker released a $40.9 billion budget proposal for FY2019. The plan, commonly referred to as House 2, is the fourth Baker has proposed since assuming office and increases spending by 2.6% over FY2018 levels.

The Task Force that Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg commissioned to review the alcohol industry in the Commonwealth issued its final report on December 27, 2017.

The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) voted in late December to approve draft regulations establishing the framework for the recreational marijuana industry of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts policymakers continue to debate health care reform proposals with important implications for industry stakeholders.

The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance has released draft regulations changing the existing Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (EMAC), creating a temporary supplemental contribution, and modifying the unemployment insurance rate schedule.

The Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development held a hearing on Tuesday, October 31 to receive testimony on the several bills introduced this session addressing the use of non-compete agreements in Massachusetts.

On Tuesday, October 17, Massachusetts Senate leaders released comprehensive health care legislation containing a wide range of provisions significantly impacting industry stakeholders.

State-by-state legalization of the medical and recreational use of marijuana is creating a new industry in the U.S. that has the potential to rival our largest businesses. However, the growth of this new industry comes at a cost.

The Republican evolution on health care over the course of 2017 has tested the resolve of the party’s years-long effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Republican goal of repeal and replace has reached a fever pitch, with days to go before we may come to a resolution on this nearly eight-year drive.

Massachusetts lawmakers have returned from summer recess and are preparing to tackle a robust legislative agenda this fall. Legislators will meet formally through the third Wednesday in November, at which point formal sessions will end until 2018.

This past August, the Massachusetts Senate and the Millbank Memorial Fund Healthcare Working Group held three roundtable discussions geared towards finding solutions to rising healthcare costs and providing patients with more coordinated care.

In the wake of growing concerns about data privacy and cyber threats, Massachusetts lawmakers are increasingly focused on evaluating and improving the state’s cybersecurity policies and information technology infrastructure.

On Tuesday, December 6, Governor Charlie Baker, under his Section 9C authority, ordered $98 million in mid-year cuts from the $39.25 billion FY17 state budget. The administration has warned of budget imbalances for months and this action aims at aligning state revenues, which have lagged throughout the year, with projected spending.

Following the beginning of the 115th Congress (January 3) and President-elect Trump’s inauguration (January 20), the legislative and executive branches will have at their disposal a number of legal methods for following through on their deregulation pledges.

Throughout the fall, policy makers in Massachusetts have sharpened their focus on the rise of pharmaceutical drug prices and their role in the growth of overall health care spending in the Commonwealth.

There are a number of factors to consider that have broad implications beyond health care: