The Latest in ASTCT Advocacy: May 2026
Congress Stays Busy with Politics
Last week, Congressional Republicans did not meet President Trump’s Memorial Day deadline to push through legislation that would allocate $70 billion for ongoing border and immigration enforcement. This legislation—known as Reconciliation 2.0—is politically tricky for many Republicans who must survive a MAGA-centric primary season and still appeal to moderate voters in November’s mid-term election.
Congress will return from its Memorial Day recess in early June to continue work on Reconciliation 2.0 as its legislative to-do list grows. The stakes are high right now for Republicans. The challenges they face in passing their own legislation showcases internal discord and time lost on a shrinking legislative calendar. The fate of Reconciliation 2.0 will also influence Republican leadership’s decision to push a third reconciliation bill ahead of November midterms. As summer campaign season officially begins, members of Congress will be eager to spend less time in D.C. debating politically hard issues and more time in their states and districts making the case for reelection.
The summer Congressional session will also focus more on appropriations bills for FY2027. Expect healthcare chatter in June and July as the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees turn toward funding the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for FY2027. Even with his influence, it is unlikely that Congress will accept the President’s proposed 30-percent cut to NIH and nearly 12 percent cut to HHS in FY2027. Expect members of Congress from both parties to defend HHS and its current structure and organization.
ASTCT’s Executive Summary to CMS’ Proposed IPPS Rule Now Available
In early April, CMS issued its proposed FY 2027 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) rule for public comment. ASTCT’s executive summary of its draft response to the proposed rule is available on ASTCT’s advocacy page. CMS’ IPPS comment period closes on Tuesday, June 9. Please contact Molly Ford if you have questions on the FY 2027 IPPS proposed rule or would like to learn more about ASTCT’s proposed response.
Read the Full Executive Summary
Medicare FY 2027 IPPS Proposed Rule Webinar Available On-Demand
ASTCT’s May 14 webinar recording on the FY 2027 IPPS Proposed Rule is now available on demand. Join ASTCT Director of Government & Payer Relations, Molly Ford, and ASTCT’s payer advisors from Nimitt Consulting for an overview of key proposed Medicare payment and policy updates affecting ASTCT and its members.
Webinar topics include proposed MS-DRG payment changes, updates to the fixed-loss outlier threshold, and new technology add-on payment applications.