The House and Senate are both in session next week.

Senate Confirms Dr. Mehmet Oz as CMS Administrator. The Senate voted to confirm Dr. Oz, 53-45, along party lines. Dr. Oz’s key health policy priorities include addressing chronic disease through preventive care, reducing administrative costs and burden, addressing fraud, waste and abuse, and driving efficiencies in federal health programs. We anticipate his agenda will also align with Secretary Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) plans. Once Dr. Oz is sworn in, A4H anticipates that CMS will release additional information about a proactive accountable care agenda.

The Reconciliation Process Moves Forward in the Senate. Republican lawmakers are planning to use reconciliation to push key Trump Administration policy priorities forward, including an extension of tax cuts and other spending priorities. As a reminder, reconciliation is a unique legislative tool requiring a simple majority in the Senate instead of the typical 60-vote threshold. This week, the process hit a major milestone as Senate and House Republicans agreed on a unified path forward. In the coming weeks and months, key health care committees will decide what health policies to include in the final package. The health care ecosystem could be affected by funding or programmatic cuts to Medicaid or changes to site-neutral reimbursement policies, while specific accountable care policies do not appear likely to be included at this time. A4H will continue to monitor this fluid process and provide updates.

HHS Begins Major Agency Restructuring and Significant RIF. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced it would undergo a comprehensive reorganization and pursue a significant reduction in force (RIF). HHS’ workforce will be reduced from 82,000 to 62,000, accounting for the RIF and prior workforce reduction initiatives, like deferred resignation and early retirements. Structurally, HHS will consolidate its 28 divisions into 15 to support its alignment with MAHA goals and principles, creating a new Administration for a Healthy America to combine multiple agencies, including the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and splitting the Administration for Community Living’s programs among other divisions, including CMS. See HHS’ fact sheet on the restructuring here. A4H is closely following staffing changes that impact accountable care and looks forward to continuing to work with CMS and CMMI to achieve better care at a lower cost.

Modern Medicaid Alliance (MMA) Delivers Sign-On Letter to Congressional Leaders. The letter was signed by 95 national and state-based organizations urging Congress to avoid making cuts to Medicaid. MMA highlights the important role Medicaid plays in providing care to the nation’s most vulnerable and in supporting providers and health systems in rural communities. The letter concludes by acknowledging the difficult decisions Congress must make in the policymaking process while advocating for the protection and preservation of the Medicaid program, and by committing to sharing patient and constituent stories which demonstrate the value of Medicaid.

Save the Dates for our Upcoming Double Click Meetings. Our in-person quarterly meetings are for policy-focused audiences in Washington, DC.

Each meeting will be held at the Kaiser Center for Total Health (700 2nd St, NE, Washington, DC) from 11am to 2pm ET. Please note the separate registration links. More details to follow.

• Tuesday, May 20 – register here
• Tuesday, September 30 – register here (please note new date)
• Tuesday, December 9 – register here

Save the Date for Health Care Value Week: March 2-6, 2026. Thank you to all our members and stakeholders who joined us for Health Care Value Week. We look forward to hosting virtual and in-person events again next year. Please mark your calendars, additional details to follow.