Healthcare

This joint resolution seeks to officially disapprove a specific rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding the implementation of prior authorization for certain Medicare services. The proposed action would prevent the rule, known as the WISeR Model, from taking effect, thereby stopping the new requirements from being enforced. If passed, the resolution would nullify the regulation and maintain the status quo for the affected healthcare services.

S 3627, the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act, requires colleges and universities participating in federal student aid programs to provide clear information about pregnancy-related resources and accommodations to all enrolled students. The bill mandates annual email notifications, inclusion in student handbooks and orientations, and availability at health centers and websites, detailing campus/community resources, available accommodations, and how to file Title IX complaints. It specifically covers students planning to or currently pregnant who wish to carry a baby to term. The law focuses solely on disseminating existing information and does not create new rights or accommodations. (Bill text amended under Section 485 of the Higher Education Act.)

SJRES 84 is a joint resolution seeking to block a rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) under the Affordable Care Act. The rule, published in the Federal Register on June 25, 2025, aimed to improve affordability and integrity in health insurance marketplaces. If approved, this resolution would invalidate the rule under a federal disapproval process, preventing its implementation. This directly affects how health insurance plans are structured and priced for consumers using ACA marketplaces.

Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act or the HALT Fentanyl Act This act permanently places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. Under the act, offenses involving fentanyl-related substances are triggered by the same quantity thresholds and subject to the same penalties as offenses involving fentanyl analogues (e.g., offenses involving 100 grams or more trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term). Additionally, the act establishes a new, alternative registration process for certain schedule I research. The act also makes several other changes to registration requirements for conducting research with controlled substances, including permitting a single registration for related research sites in certain circumstances, waiving the requirement for a new inspection in certain situations, and allowing a registered researcher to perform certain manufacturing activities with small quantities of a substance without obtaining a manufacturing registration. Finally, the act expresses the sense that Congress agrees with the interpretation of the Controlled Substances Act in United States v. McCray , a 2018 case decided by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. In that case, the court held that butyryl fentanyl, a controlled substance, can be considered an analogue of fentanyl even though, under the Controlled Substances Act, the term controlled substance analogue specifically excludes a controlled substance.