The House Ways and Means Committee has advanced legislation that would impose new reporting requirements on large tax-exempt hospitals across the United States.
HR 9504, the Tax Exempt Hospital Transparency Act, was reported out of committee by a party-line vote of 25 to 15 during the July 1, 2026, markup session.
Under the bill, large tax-exempt hospitals with more than 100 staffed inpatient beds would be required to submit additional data on community health needs and spending.
High-revenue tax-exempt hospital organisations with net patient revenue exceeding $100 million would also need to disclose advertising information, health service line data, and 340B drug discount programme details.
The House Education and Workforce Health Subcommittee separately convened a hearing on direct contracting in healthcare, examining how such arrangements could lower costs for employers and improve access to care.
Republicans argued that direct contracting and direct primary care rely on market-based solutions and innovation, while Democrats raised concerns that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could cause 15 million people to lose healthcare coverage.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its proposed CY 2027 Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System rule, which would increase payment rates by 2.4%.
Among the rule’s notable proposals, CMS would pay for 340B-acquired drugs at average sales price minus 33.4%, a significant change from the current default rate of average sales price plus 6%.
CMS also proposes to expand the ASC covered procedures list by adding 618 procedures and to extend site-neutral payments to include imaging services without contrast furnished by excepted off-campus provider-based outpatient departments.
Comments on the proposed rule are due August 31, 2026, and McDermott+ has created a dashboard showing the proposed 2027 Medicare payment rates by procedure code.
HHS and CMS launched the “Make Hospital Food Healthier” pledge, a voluntary initiative asking hospitals to reduce ultra-processed foods, sugary drinks, processed meats, and artificial additives while prioritising whole grains and minimally processed proteins.
The District of Columbia and 25 states filed suit against HHS Secretary Kennedy and CMS Administrator Oz, challenging the Medicaid work requirements interim final rule as unlawfully narrow in its protections for medically frail Medicaid recipients.
The suit is co-led by the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, with states required to implement work requirements for the expansion population by January 1, 2027.
Dr. Erica Schwartz, nominated by President Trump in April 2026 to lead the CDC, is scheduled to appear before the Senate HELP Committee for a confirmation hearing on July 15, 2026.
CMS has also launched its Medicare GLP-1 Bridge initiative, allowing eligible Medicare Part D enrollees to obtain certain GLP-1 medications for $50 per month through December 31, 2027.