The end of the calendar year is a month away, and the continuing resolution under which Congress approved funding for most of the government ends on January 30, 2026.
We will be watching for signals of an “outbreak of cooperation,” particularly around the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits, which are set to expire December 31, 2025. There is currently no sign of a bipartisan deal. Senate Republicans have hinted at possible alternatives to extending the tax credits, but it is unclear whether there is enough support among Republicans to initiate bipartisan negotiations. It is also unclear whether President Trump will choose to insert himself again after congressional Republicans nixed the administration’s attempt last month before it was even formally proposed.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will meet Wednesday on the broad topic of healthcare affordability, which will provide another avenue to publicly discuss the pending expiration of the ACA enhanced premium tax credits. The conversation may mirror the November 19, 2025, Senate Committee on Finance hearing on the rising cost of healthcare, where committee Democrats and two of the witnesses argued that extending the tax credits this month is essential before considering potential long-term solutions.
On Monday evening, the House passed HR 4313, the Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act. The bill, passed under suspension of the rules (which requires the support of two-thirds of the House), would extend the Acute Hospital Care at Home program for five years. We will watch to see whether the Senate decides to take it up via unanimous consent. If not, the legislation may be included in negotiations around the January 30, 2026, expiration of the government funding package, which also includes health extenders such as the hospital at home program extension.
In the administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model today. The model is intended to test “an outcome-aligned payment approach designed to give people with Original Medicare new options to improve their health and prevent and manage chronic disease with technology-supported care.” Many groups that have participated in the White House healthcare and technology ecosystem initiative will attend a private event with CMS on Thursday to discuss the model and any other Innovation Center models announced this week.
The Medicare Payment Advisory Committee will also meet on Thursday and Friday for the first time since missing meetings during the government shutdown.
Although we typically focus on previewing the week ahead, we wanted to draw your attention to a few rules the administration released last week that you may have missed because of the Thanksgiving holiday. On November 25, 2025, CMS issued a proposed rule that would make policy and technical changes to the Medicare Advantage and Part D programs for 2027 and beyond. CMS announced the agreed-upon maximum fair prices for 15 drugs selected for the 2027 Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. On November 28, 2025, the calendar year 2026 home health final rule, which forecasts plans for competitive bidding, was posted for public inspection.
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.
