There are two days left to fund the government before a shutdown occurs. Republicans continue to push for a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) to extend government funding until November 21, 2025. The House passed that CR on September 19, 2025, but it failed to gain the votes necessary to move forward in the Senate. Democrats continue to advocate for any CR to include healthcare provisions, such as an extension of the expiring advanced premium tax credits and repeal of Medicaid provisions passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
House Speaker Johnson (R-LA), Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD), Senate Minority Leader Schumer (D-NY), and House Minority Leader Jeffries (D-NY) were scheduled to meet with President Trump at 3:00 pm EDT Monday to discuss and potentially negotiate a government funding package. Thune scheduled the meeting after President Trump cancelled last week’s meeting with Minority Leaders Schumer and Jeffries. This will be the first meeting between President Trump and all four congressional leaders since President Trump took office in January. All eyes will be on this meeting to see if a deal can be reached or if both sides dig their heels in more, in which case a shutdown would be imminent.
Over the weekend, the US Department of Health and Human Services updated its contingency staffing plans for fiscal year 2026, which note that mandatory programs such as Medicare and Medicaid would continue in the case of a shutdown. However, the Medicare telehealth and hospital at home benefits are limited in statute and expire after September 30, 2025. While access to regular Medicare benefits will continue, beneficiaries could face restrictions and complications in receiving telehealth and hospital at home care starting October 1, 2025, if there is a shutdown, unless the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provided guidance to the contrary. To date, no such guidance has been released.
There will be limited healthcare action in Congress this week beyond shutdown negotiations and any aftermath. While the Senate is in session and House Democrats are back in town this week, House Republicans are currently scheduled to remain in recess until October 7, 2025. There will be no votes or hearings in the House until they return. Their return date is subject to change if negotiations necessitate further action on government funding in the House.
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.
