Health Policy Digest - November 2024

We are pleased to present the November issue of the ARN Health Policy Digest. This member benefit provides updates on health policy and legislative and regulatory developments that may be of interest to rehabilitation nurses.

Election Results and Health Policy Implications 

The 2024 election results are in: Former President Donald Trump will be returning to the White House as the 47th President of the United States and Republicans will control both the House and Senate in the next session. Despite republicans having unified control, the path ahead will be challenging, as narrow margins in both chambers can complicate efforts to pass major legislative initiatives.

Congressional Republicans conducted their leadership elections last week. With Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stepping down from his leadership role after 18 years, Senate Republicans selected Senator John Thune (R-SD) to serve as leader in the next Congress. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will retain the gavel in the 119th Congress, although the formal Speaker election will occur in January.

The healthcare agenda for the new administration and next Congress are still coming into focus. Trump's campaign did not focus on health care and the topic is not one of his personal interests. In case you missed it, Trump intends to nominate Robert Kennedy, Jr. for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Dr. Mehmet Oz for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Across the healthcare landscape, ARN members can expect changes in policy priorities from the new administration. We should also expect the new administration to spend the early months of 2025 rescinding policies of the outgoing administration and potentially repealing recent HHS rules and regulations.

Two of Congress' first agenda items will be raising the debt ceiling, which is set to expire on January 1, and extending the Trump tax cuts. House Budget Committee Chair Jody Arrington has signaled that he wants to include budget caps when Congress raises the debt ceiling in 2025. Any caps on non-defense discretionary programs will impact the programs ARN advocates for at the National Institutes of Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Administration for Community Living. Additionally, republicans have stated that their goal is to use the budget reconciliation process to extend the Trump tax cuts in the first 100 days of the new administration and Congress. This is expected to be a large financial package, which could include health policies.

We'll continue to keep ARN members updated as we learn more. We look forward to engaging with the new administration and Congress in the new year!

Lame Duck Session 

Now that the election is over and Congress has entered the lame duck session, there is the potential for this session to be lamer than usual as Republicans wait for Trump to signal what he wants them to accomplish before the end of the year and what should be punted into the 119th Congress. With the continuing resolution (CR) set to expire on December 20, Congress must either finalize Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 spending or pass another CR. Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME) has signaled her preference to wrap up FY 2025 spending before the end of the year. House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) shares that preference but said that he would defer to Trump.

In addition to FY 2025 appropriations, there are several health care priorities that Congress must address before they expire at the end of the year. These priorities include expanding access to telehealth services and home health care. At the time of publication, it is still unclear whether there will be a lame duck health care package and how broad it might be. As we wait to see what Congress' next move is, ARN members should remind their members of Congress what our priorities are. You can take action here by sending emails to your members of Congress urging them to support (1) telehealth expansion; (2) funding for programs supporting traumatic brain injury patients; and (3) funding for nursing and rehabilitation workforce and research programs. 

Legislation and Appropriations Tracker

As we near the end of the 118th Congress, we encourage members to review ARN's Legislative Tracking Chart to stay informed on the bills and policies we've been monitoring and advocating. Additionally, you should review the funding levels for the federal health programs we support through the annual appropriations process. This is particularly important as we prepare for the incoming Congress, where new priorities and shifts in leadership may influence the direction of healthcare policy.

Notice of Funding Opportunities 

• NOT-HD-24-034: Notice Announcing Research Opportunity Announcement (ROA) for the Post-Crash Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Data Science Initiative
• NOT-HD-24-040: Notice of NICHD Participation in PA-25-080, NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings (Parent R13 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• NOT-HD-24-038: Notice of NICHD Key Date Changes for PA-23-189, Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• NOT-OD-24-143: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellowship Awards to Support Training in Research Related to Down Syndrome as Part of the INCLUDE Project
• NOT-OD-24-179: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Research on the Health of Women of Underrepresented, Underserved, and Underreported (U3) Populations (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)
• RFA-NS-25-020: HEAL Initiative: Understanding Individual Differences in Human Pain Conditions (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
• NOT-OD-25-010: NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution
• NOT-DC-24-041: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Developing and Evaluating Evidence-Based Practice for Users of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
• PAR-25-120: NIDCD Early Career Research (ECR) Award (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)
• PAR-25-115: Towards a Better Understanding of the Neurological Effects of Infection-Associated Chronic Illnesses (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)
• PAR-25-116: Towards a Better Understanding of the Neurological Effects of Infection-Associated Chronic Illnesses (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
• NOT-NS-25-004: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Policy for applications requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year (excluding consortium F&A) on NIH Notices of Funding Opportunities, PAR-22-242 and PAR-22-243.
• NOT-PM-25-001: Notice of Future Other Transactions Research Opportunity Announcement for All of Us Research Program Biobank
• RFA-RM-24-011: Pilot projects to enhance utility and usage of data sets from the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• NOT-AI-25-007: Request for Information (RFI): Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery – Treating Long COVID
• NOT-MD-25-002: RFI: Inviting Comments and Suggestions on the NIH Minority Health and Health Disparities Strategic Plan, 2026-2030
• PAR-24-264: High-End Instrumentation Grant Program (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PAR-24-265: Shared Instrumentation Grant Program (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PAR-25-024: Development of Biomarkers or Composite Biomarkers for Neurological and Neuromuscular Disorders (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional)
• PAR-25-053: Translational Neural Devices (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional)