The House of Representatives recently passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148). In a new insight, Health Care Policy Analyst Nicolas Montenegro provides an overview of the bill’s key health care sections ahead of a potential upcoming vote in the Senate.

Key Points:

• The “minibus” combines several spending bills with additional standalone legislation from authorizing committees; as in prior appropriation cycles, the legislation packages temporary “extenders” of health care programs, waivers, and moratoria, some of which are set to expire on January 30.
• The legislation also introduces new, but previously considered health policies, including broad reforms to pharmacy benefit managers, new requirements for Medicare reimbursement, and authorizations for several public health initiatives.
• While some of the wide-reaching legislation’s amendments make only minor revisions to laws governing long-standing institutions, others could have profound, undetermined effects on the health care industry, impacting both government-supported programs and the private sector.

Read the analysis.