Weekly Healthcare Policy Round-Up

In this week’s Health Policy Round-Up, ALF shares the most up to date news happening in Washington DC.

• The House of Representatives and Senate returned to Washington, D.C. this week. Congress will prioritize government funding for fiscal year 2026 before the deadline on September 30^th.

• On September 1^st, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies issued its draft fiscal year 2026 spending bill. In this bill the subcommittee eliminates funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The bill will be voted on by the full Appropriations Committee later this month. American Liver Foundation will closely monitor the bill and the effect this will have on the first-ever national study to assess the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), now called metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease or MASLD currently underway at AHRQ.

• As of August 31^st, Military retirees and family members on Tricare for Life will no longer have weight loss medications covered by their insurance. Medicare eligible retirees and Defense Department civilians, as well as others with access to military hospitals but who aren't on Tricare, will no longer be able to get these popular medications through the Department of Defense health system. Beneficiaries with Tricare Prime, Tricare Select, and Premium based Tricare plans will continue to have coverage if they meet certain clinical criteria.

• On September 4^th, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. testified before the Senate Finance Committee to address Congressional questions about the President’s 2026 Health Care Agenda.