117^th Congress:  Final To-Do’s

Funding the federal government:  As of this writing on Wednesday afternoon, Congressional negotiators are reported to have agreed on a topline FY 2023 budget number of about $1.7 trillion.  A one-week extension to the current continuing resolution (CR) is expected to pass the House tonight and the Senate as soon as Thursday to allow time to work out allocations, final legislative language, and passage through both chambers by 11:59 p.m. on December 23.  The time crunch will not accommodate much back-and-forth on potential policy riders, but House and Senate leaders have said that completing FY 2023 appropriations this year – and not through a full-year CR – is a priority. 

Senate Finance Mental Health Package:  Committee Releases Final Piece

On December 1, the Senate Finance Committee released a discussion draft of the last of five sections of the long-awaited bipartisan mental health package.  Part One addressed telehealth policies, Part Two took up a limited number of children’s mental health provisions, and Part Three focused on workforce development, primarily in Medicare.  Part Four, just last month, centered on better integrating physical and mental health care and expanding access to both immediate and longer-term care for Americans in crisis.  Finally, this new Part Five is “aimed at putting access to mental health care on par with physical health care in Medicare and Medicaid.”  A summary of provisions for all five sections lists just five for this last section, three affecting Medicare and two, Medicaid.