119th Congress Begins

The 119th Congress was sworn in on Friday, January 3. Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected speaker, and Senator John Thune (R-SD) was elected majority leader. The Academy is meeting with freshman members in both the House and Senate.

The new chairperson of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative Buddy Carter (R-GA), has announced his intention to rush through Congress the health-care package that was part of the original continuing resolution (CR) introduced in December, but was derailed by President-elect Donald Trump and his special advisor Elon Musk.

The highlights of this health care package included a two-year extension of eased rules for telehealth in Medicare that expired at the end of 2024, and a one-year extension of rules allowing employers to cover telehealth for patients in high-deductible health plans before they hit their deductibles. Providers would get relief from the pay cuts in Medicare for a year, and the legislation would reform the pharmacy benefit managers program to reduce the price of prescription drugs. The bill includes a number of other health care provisions, such as the Support Act and the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act.

While the telehealth piece was extended for the three months’ duration of the current CR, everything else was cut from the final CR that was signed into law last month. The Academy will work diligently with its champions as the health care package moves forward to find ways to include relevant provisions of the Medicare Audiology Access Improvement Act into any legislative vehicle.