McDermott+Consulting

This week in the Breakroom, Deborah Godes and Marla Kugel join Julia Grabo to explore key policies in the recently released CY 2026 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Service Center Payment System final rule.

In this week's Healthcare Preview podcast, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss the congressional calendar for this week and the rest of the year, including upcoming suspensions and hearings, and ongoing discussions of the enhanced Advance Premium Tax Credits.  

In this week's Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Erin Fuller to recap last week's congressional discussions on healthcare affordability and break down new reports of a White House health policy plan to address the soon-to-be expiring advanced premium tax credits.

Today in the Health Policy Breakroom, Katie Waldo and Kayla Holgash join Julia Grabo to discuss recent actions around implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's (OBBBA's) provider tax provisions and Rural Health Transformation Program.

In the third and final episode of our Breakroom series celebrating people with disabilities and those who care for them, Kayla Holgash is joined by Jenny Babcock, Senior Vice President for Medicaid Policy at Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP). Jenny and Kayla discuss the life and legacy of Jenny's sister, Jill Babcock, who was a fierce advocate for those with disabilities, serving as Director of Fair Housing for the City of Detroit Housing and Revitalization Department, and founding a consulting firm that helped organizations navigate the intersection of economic development and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

In the second episode of our Breakroom series celebrating people with disabilities and those who care for them, Kayla Holgash is joined by Yadira Holmes, Vice President, Government Relations at Sevita. Yadira and Kayla discuss how work can be treatment for their participants, how Sevita helps their participants find appropriate jobs, and policy suggestions to support individuals with disabilities.

In this week's Healthcare Preview podcast, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss what Congress is up to this week after the reopening of the government, including key health hearings and the ongoing debate on the enhanced premium tax credits.

This week in the Breakroom, Jeffrey Davis and Rachel Stauffer join Maddie News to discuss the continuing resolution that ended the government shutdown and retroactively restored Medicare telehealth flexibilities, including what guidance is needed for providers before submitting certain telehealth claims.

In the first episode of our Breakroom series celebrating people with disabilities and those who care for them, Kayla Holgash is joined by Jeffrey Davis, McDermott+ health policy director and primary author of our Regs & Eggs blog. Jeffrey and Kayla discuss Jeffrey's personal experience with disability and how it has related to his career, his upbringing, his support system, and what he wishes more people knew about working and living with disabilities.

In this week's Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Erin Fuller to discuss the Senate's recent deal to reopen the government and what to watch for next from Congress in the ongoing fight to fund the government. 

This week in the Breakroom, Jeffrey Davis and Rachel Hollander join Erin Fuller to break down major payment policies in the CY 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule.

In this week's Healthcare Preview podcast, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Julia Grabo to discuss why we are watching this week closely for signs of a reopening government.

This week in the Breakroom, Debbie Curtis joins Julia Grabo to dig into the conversation within Congress and the administration around the expiring enhanced advanced premium tax credits ahead of Affordable Care Act Marketplace enrollment opening on November 1, 2025.

In this week's Healthcare Preview podcast, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss the upcoming start of the health insurance marketplace open enrollment, and what any potential congressional action on the enhanced premium tax credits could mean for the marketplaces.

This week in the Breakroom, Jeffrey Davis joins Maddie News to discuss how the ongoing government shutdown and the expiration of certain congressional healthcare extenders have impacted Medicare's processing of physician claims, and what recent changes mean for healthcare providers.

In this week's Healthcare Preview podcast, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Erin Fuller to discuss the ongoing government shutdown and the upcoming Senate HELP Committee hearing on the 340B program.

This week in the Breakroom, Rachel Stauffer joins Erin Fuller to discuss the expiration of the Medicare fee-for-service telehealth flexibilities and unpack what this means for patients, providers, and the future of virtual care.

Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Julia Grabo to discuss the current state of the government shutdown.

Amy Kelbick and Simeon Niles join Julia Grabo to discuss the implementation of President Trump's most-favored nation drug pricing executive order, including how manufacturers are responding and possible next steps.

In this week's Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss the government shutdown, what the Senate and House are up to this week, and how the shutdown could end.

This week in the Breakroom, Jeff Davis and Amy Kelbick join Erin Fuller to discuss what we can expect from Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services during the government shutdown, and how specific healthcare programs will be impacted.

In this week's Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss where we are at with the looming government funding deadline of September 30, and what stakeholders should keep in mind with expiring healthcare programs.

Lynn Nonnemaker joins Julia Grabo to discuss what Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D proposals have been finalized, and, more importantly, which ones have not yet been addressed.

In this week's Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Erin Fuller to discuss where Congress is at in their battle to fund the government as the September 30th deadline quickly approaches, as well as an overview of last week's highly-anticipated Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting.

This week in the Breakroom, Rachel Stauffer and Amy Kelbick join Erin Fuller for a deep dive into the MAHA Commission's "Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment," and discuss anticipated next steps in its implementation.

On this special edition of the breakroom, Maddie News interviews a new member of the McDermott+ team, Erin Fuller, who will become a new host of our weekly Preview and Breakroom podcasts.

In this week's Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss what's going on in Congress this week, from government funding to healthcare activity at the committee level.

This week in the Breakroom, Jeffrey Davis joins Julia Grabo to discuss the Spring 2025 Unified Agenda and what it might tell us about the Trump administration's regulatory and deregulatory healthcare priorities.

In this week's Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss what options Congress may be considering to fund the government with 12 legislative days left before the September 30th deadline, and the renewed focus on vaccines following Secretary Kennedy's testimony in front of the Senate Committee on Finance.

This week in the Breakroom, Jeffrey Davis and Rachel Stauffer join Maddie News to discuss progress on HHS appropriations and what's to come.

Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Julia Grabo to discuss how the forthcoming government funding fight could play out.

This week in the Breakroom, Rachel Stauffer and Rachel Hollander join Maddie News to take a deep dive into the digital health and telehealth proposals in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Read more in this week's Regs & Eggs blog post.

Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Julia Grabo to reflect on the year so far and look into their crystal ball for August recess and beyond.

Deborah Godes and Marla Kugel join Julia Grabo to discuss the major policies proposed in the recently released calendar year 2026 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule.

In this week's Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss the upcoming August recess and how that is contributing to a slow healthcare congressional week.

This week in the Breakroom, Jeffrey Davis and Rachel Hollander join Maddie News to break down major payment policies in the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule. Read more in our regs & eggs blog post.

The deadline to pass the White House's recissions package is this week. Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Julia Grabo to discuss the package's state of play and why it matters.

Sarah Raaii and Rachel Stauffer join Julia Grabo to discuss a key virtual care provision from the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including its impact on patients, employers, and the state of virtual care policy at large.

In this week's Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss what Congress will be focusing on after the passage of the reconciliation package.

This week in the Breakroom, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to recap the Senate's passage of the reconciliation package and preview what could be in store as the House prepares to vote on the amended package. As of the time of our recording at 12:30pm ET on July 2, the House had not yet voted on the bill.

In this week's Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss reconciliation updates from the weekend and what could be in store this week.

This week in the Breakroom, Lynn Nonnemaker joins Maddie News to discuss the recent announcement by health insurers to streamline the prior authorization process. Read more in our Regs and Eggs blog post.

Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Julia Grabo to discuss where the Senate is on reconciliation ahead of the quickly approaching, self-imposed July 4th deadline.

Debbie Curtis, Rodney Whitlock, and Maddie News join Julia Grabo to discuss how the recently released Senate Finance Committee reconciliation language differs from the House-passed bill and where the Senate moves next in the process.

In this week's Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Maddie News to discuss the expected release of Senate Finance Committee reconciliation text and what to look out for in the healthcare space.

his week in the Breakroom, Jeff Davis and Rachel Stauffer join Maddie News to discuss HHS' recently released budget in brief for 2026 and how it has jumpstarted the congressional appropriations process on Capitol Hill. Read more about the budget in brief in our recent Regs & Eggs blog posts.

Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Julia Grabo to discuss the busy week ahead of Congress, including where they are in the reconciliation, recissions, and appropriations processes.

July is anticipated to be a busy rulemaking month, and Marla Kugel has joined M+ as a Senior Director just in time. In this episode of the breakroom, Devin Stone joins to discuss how the M+ data team approaches rules season, and Marla discusses her background in health policy and what areas of health policy she's excited to dive into this year.

In this week's Healthcare Preview, Debbie Curtis joins Maddie News to discuss forthcoming CBO scores and what the Senate margin means for ongoing reconciliation discussions.

This week in the Breakroom, Amy Kelbick joins Maddie News to discuss recent actions by the Trump Administration and Congress on lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock join Julia Grabo to discuss what we know (and don't know) about the House-passed reconciliation package and what we are watching for in the Senate.