(Sept. 25, 2026) – It's now officially fall, and the cooling air temps in this even-numbered year are a reminder that the 2026 general election is right around the corner. Campaign commercials are seemingly everywhere as candidates in Kansas vie for seats in the 120th Congress, which will convene in January. The U.S. House of Representatives has already gone on its campaign season recess, while the Senate will soon follow suit at the end of next week. When the 119th Congress returns for its lame duck session to wrap up 2026, many issues will remain on the table.
First, Congress must pass a budget to fund the federal government during fiscal year 2027. The current continuing resolution expires on Dec. 11, 2026, and the outcome of the election will almost certainly help shape the nature of this debate. If the Democrats win either the House or Senate, Republicans will be forced either to pass a longer CR that bridges into 2027 or to work with Democrats on some of their priorities to entice them to play ball rather than attempt to run out the clock. The House version of the United States Department of Health and Human Services appropriations division contains full funding for the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program and Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program, as well as language related to Sole Community Hospital/Medicare-Dependent Hospitals and Graducate Medical Education funding parity, so a budget deal that preserves these provisions in a year-end omnibus appropriations bill is a priority. Also, Rural Emergency Hospital 2.0 aslso remains in play as an additional provision in an omnibus.
The 2026 endgame may include attempts to pass various pieces of legislation related to health care, particularly as it relates to rural health, price transparency and Medicare Advantage reform. The Senate Farm Bill contains the language of Senator Jerry Moran's Rural Hospital Revitalization Act, a bill that would provide zero-interest loans to rural hospitals looking to construct new facilities or upgrade existing ones. Unfortunately, though the House has already passed its version of the Farm Bill and the Senate Agriculture Committee reported its version to the full Senate earlier this month, it does not have the bipartisan support to meet the 60-vote threshold in the Senate for passage and so remains unviable in its present form.
Dueling price transparency bills also will be up for discussion when Congress returns with Senator Roger Marshall's Patients Deserve Price Tags bill and the House's Lower Costs, More Transparency bill both on the docket. While we appreciate the opportunity to provide input to Senator Marshall and his team as they developed the Price Tags bill, we believe that the Lower Costs bill would allow hospitals to continue using methods already in use, like price estimator tools, to meet federal transparency requirements.
Finally, we continue to support Senator Marshall's other major bill this Congress, the Seniors Timely Access to Care Act, which would place requirements on MA plans to improve prior authorization requests from providers, and will push for its passage. And, while no 340B legislation is likely to pass this Congress, we applaud Senator Moran’s work on the SUSTAIN 340B Act and believe it will serve as the primary legislation for future discussions on the 340B drug discount program.
As nationally renowned political commentator Chris Cilizza told Advocacy and Grassroots breakfast attendees at our annual convention earlier this month in Overland Park, Kansas has entered the fray as a battleground state this fall. Now is the time to get involved, ask questions of those seeking high office, and invite them to your hospitals and communities. Earlier this summer, U.S. Representatives Ron Estes, Sharice Davids and Derek Schmidt made such visits for hospital executive roundtables, and each was an opportunity to hear their visions for the future of health care in Kansas and to share how we work daily to make it a reality. Don't pass up an opportunity to get involved over the next couple of months as Kansans go to the polls to decide how Congress will look in 2027!
--Chad Austin