Health Law Daily Wrap Up, FEDERAL LEGISLATION NEWS—Trump signs bill ending partial shutdown, extending telehealth flexibilities, (Feb 4, 2026)
Organizations Mentioned:U.S. House of Representatives
By Sheila Lynch-Afryl, J.D., M.A.
The legislation extends COVID-era Medicare telehealth flexibilities through the end of 2027.
A partial government shutdown ended after the U.S. House of Representatives passed, and President Donald Trump signed, an appropriations package funding HHS through September 30. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148), which the House passed 217 to 214, extends COVID-era Medicare telehealth flexibilities through December 31, 2027 and the Hospital at Home program through September 30, 2030. It also addresses pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) compensation and institutes PBM transparency and reporting requirements.
In addition, the legislation extends the Medicare-Dependent Hospital and low-volume programs through December 31, 2026, and delays $8 billion in cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospitals until fiscal year 2028. It extends bonuses under the ambulance fee schedule through December 31, 2027, the physician fee schedule 1.0 floor for work geographic practice cost indices through December 31, 2026, and the temporary inclusion of authorized oral retroviral drugs as covered Part D drugs through December 31, 2026.
The bill also requires Medicare Advantage plans to maintain accurate provider lists and off-campus hospital outpatient departments to have their own identification numbers and provide their own attestations and provides for Medicare coverage of multi-cancer early detection screening tests.
The bill provides for discretionary funding of $116.6 billion for HHS. A fact sheet states that the bill reduces spending on “the federal bureaucracy by over $100 million across the department.”
MainStory: TopStory NewsStory FederalLegislationNews HealthCareReformNews ReimbursementNews WhiteHouseNews BillingNews CMSNews CopayNews CoverageNews DrugBiologicNews DSHNews HealthReformNews HospiceNews IPPSNews LaboratoryNews MedicaidNews MedicaidPaymentNews OPPSNews PartANews PartBNews PartCNews PartDNews PhysicianNews PrescriptionDrugNews RuralNews FedTracker HealthCare