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.

• On June 1st, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a rule implementing a new work requirement for certain adults on Medicaid. The new rule requires participants to meet 80 hours of work per month, also referred to as Medicaid community engagement, as a condition of eligibility for healthcare coverage. Certain individuals are exempt from this requirement, including those who are pregnant or in a postpartum period, have a disability or are considered medically frail, parents and caretakers of children under 14 years of age or people with disabilities, Native Americans and Alaska Natives. ALF is working to ensure that individuals with liver disease and those waiting on a liver transplant will be deemed “medically frail” to ensure continued healthcare coverage. Please stay tuned for more updates and opportunities to engage with your elected officials on this matter.

• Recently the House Appropriations Committee released their FY27 Labor, Health and Human Services bill. This funding bill would eliminate the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) entirely. AHRQ studies the health care system and prioritizes patient safety. AHRQ is actively working on the study championed by ALF on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the first study of its kind. ALF will continue to monitor the situation and advocate for the protection of the agency and the work they are doing on liver disease. We will keep you updated.