Congress returned from its August recess with plenty of items on its agenda to try to accomplish.
The first among them is to avoid a government shutdown as the new fiscal year (FY) begins on Oct. 1, and Congress has not yet passed any FY 2024 funding bills. Congress likely will pass a bill to temporarily fund the federal government at current levels until the end of the calendar year while they attempt to negotiate final spending levels for the remainder of FY 2024.
If Congress can avoid a government shutdown, leaders may be able to reach bipartisan agreement and pass legislation this fall to address several health policy issues. For example, pandemic preparedness legislation (the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act) and workforce programs (such as the National Health Service Corps) need to be reauthorized before they expire at the end of the month. Congress also wants to pass additional legislative solutions to alleviate drug shortages and legislation to promote transparency in healthcare pricing and consolidation.
AAOMS recently submitted comment letters urging congressional leaders to consider several potential solutions related to pandemic preparedness and drug shortages.
