Updated January 7, 2025

State

December Legislative Days

During the week of December 9, legislative committees convened in the Oregon Capitol to prepare for the upcoming 2025 Legislative Session. Committees previewed some of the issues ahead of them for the upcoming session including paying for wildfire, transportation, education, housing and health care.

Special Session

On November 26, Governor Tina Kotek called for a special legislative session to pay for firefighting efforts during the unprecedented 2024 wildfire season. That session convened on Thursday, December 12, with lawmakers gathered in committee rooms where over the course of about two hours they passed two bills nearly unanimously.

“Oregon’s 2024 fire season set historic records in terms of acres burned and total cost of suppression. In July 2024, Oregon became the top firefighting priority in the United States, with nearly 13,000 firefighters assigned to state and federal incidents throughout Oregon. Approximately 1.9 million acres burned across the state, which is more than three times the ten-year average, and a 71% increase over the total acres burned during the 2020 fire season. Considering total costs accrued by both ODF and DSFM, the estimated gross emergency fire cost to the state for 2024 totals $352 million, roughly $212 million higher than the previous record set in 2020. SB 5801 provides resources to ODF and DSFM to cover fire costs and ensure the agencies remain solvent while processing payments and awaiting receipt of federal funds and cost recoveries.”

Federal

Congress Skips Snow Day

Yesterday, January 6, marked the fourth anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol and it was the constitutionally appointed day for Congress to certify Donald Trump’s Electoral College victory. On Monday, the D.C. area got quite a bit of snow shutting down federal offices and D.C. public schools. Under normal circumstances, Congress would have followed suit. But that didn’t happen. Instead, House GOP leadership told members to stay in town through last weekend to ensure enough lawmakers were present to conduct the proceedings. And just like clockwork, Congress certified Trump’s election win in a quick session.

Welcoming the 119th Congress

At 11 a.m. ET on January 3, legislative business started with the closing of the 118th Congress. Just an hour later at noon the new Congress convened to elect a speaker. Many of you might be thinking back to January 2024 when it took days to elect a House Speaker, and some were thinking 2025 would turn out to be Groundhog Day.

And sure enough, the 119th Congress kicked off with drama. Speaker Mike Johnson faced an alarming revolt from conservative hardliners. Sound familiar? President-elect Donald Trump was lobbying on Johnson’s behalf and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a Johnson critic was also backing him. In the end, Johnson won 218 – 215 with just one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), voting for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer. This goes to show how narrow the GOP majority is.

Continuing Resolution Flat Funds Health Centers – Punts on PBM Reform

The American Relief Act extended health center mandatory funding for three months to March 14 at $4.26 billion. In the days leading up to December 20 (when the last continuing resolution (CR) was set to expire), we watched as the 1,547-page CR – which included an extension for CHCs’ mandatory funding for two years at $4.5 billion in FY25 and $4.6 billion in FY26, a 15 percent increase over the baseline at the start of the Congress – dwindled down to 116-pages and flat funded health centers.

Here are the details of the American Relief Act

  • Section 330 mandatory funding – Provides 3 months of flat-lined funding at the $4.26 annual rate
  • National Health Service Corps – Provides 3 months of funding (Jan. 1 – Mar 31, 2025) at an annual rate of $345 million, which is a slight increase over FY24.
  • Teaching Health Centers – Provides 3 months of funding (Jan. 1 – Mar 31, 2025) at an annual rate of $175 million, which is a slight decrease
  • Telehealth
  • Extends Medicare reimbursement to FQHCs for medical services provided by telehealth, at the current fee schedule rate, through March 31, 2025.
  • Delayed until April 1, 2025, the requirement that Medicare persons receiving behavioral health services via telehealth have occasional in-person appointments.

CR Punts on PBM Reform

In the weeks leading up to December 20, the health world was bobbling between whether lawmakers would do a simple extension of must-do health items or a package of sweeping bipartisan reforms. For a second, it looked like the latter. Democrats and Republicans were taking victory laps over the first version (1,547 pages) of the continuing resolution, which included an overhaul of pharmacy benefit managers that was years in the making.

After that first CR deal imploded, we heard that PBMs were out. For PBMs, avoiding these new rules was a huge win. But it won’t last long. President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to go after PBMs, calling them “the middlemen.” We’ll see about that. Regardless, lawmakers plan to address some health care issues in the reconciliation process next year, so there will be plenty of chances.

Sanofi’s Puts Breaks on Rebate Model, Sues HRSA

The detailed rebate model that Sanofi announced in November and planned to implement early this year is on hold for now. The French pharmaceutical giant, feeling pressure from HRSA has halted implementation of their controversial rebate model and is instead suing HRSA to force the agency to allow its rebate model to go forward.

Sanofi is the fourth drugmaker to sue HRSA to impose a 340B rebate model, joining Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Eli Lilly, and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). HRSA maintains that the 340B statute prohibits drugmakers from unilaterally imposing 340B rebate models without agency approval. The future of 340B is now in the hands of the courts.

What We Are Reading

Six Members of the U.S. House that 340B Stakeholders Should Keep an Eye on in 2025 – By Ted Slafsky

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Policy & Governmental
Affairs Sr. Director
Danielle Sobel
503-228-8852, x248
dsobel@orpca.org

Governmental
Affairs Director
Marty Carty
503-228-8852, x239
mcarty@orpca.org

Health Policy Analyst
Erin Woods
ewoods@orpca.org