US Policy Pulse

Maine proposals would mandate in-person provider inspections and suspend payments on suspected improper billing.

• Oversight push: Lead Maine cites...

CMS finalized a 2.48 percent Medicare Advantage payment increase for 2027, reversing its earlier near-flat proposal, yet medical costs continue to...

• Bid-to-cover reached 2.61, above the one-year average of 2.40 and highest since February
• Yield hit 5.31% with direct and indirect bidders taking...

Projected OASI depletion in 2032 would slash benefits to 78% of promised levels, hitting dual-earner couples hardest with average annual losses of...

H.R. 1 ended states' ability to waive SNAP time limits in areas lacking enough jobs, restricting relief to places with unemployment above 10%.
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Why did Treasury's jump to a $6 billion buyback fail to calm yields?

• The 10-year yield hit 4.84% Wednesday, its highest since 2023, after the...

The federal budget deficit reached $2 trillion through August of fiscal 2026, with receipts at $4.8 trillion against outlays of $6.8 trillion. This pace signals even larger annual borrowing as the fiscal year wraps up.

Congress must raise transportation revenues or cut highway programs as the Highway Trust Fund approaches depletion.

• CRS report projects HTF balance...

Social Security's OASI fund faces depletion in 2032, triggering automatic cuts to 78% of scheduled benefits unless Congress acts.

• Both parties have...

Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund could be depleted in as few as seven years, even as Part A spending per beneficiary declines.

Fewer workers...

• Treasury will buy back $6 billion in longer-term bonds Thursday—triple the usual size—to support liquidity and curb yields that hit multi-year...

For major surgeries, Original Medicare + Medigap offers full provider choice and no prior authorizations, but requires a separate policy to cap the...

• Treasury is tripling its normal buyback to $6 billion to support liquidity in 10- and 20-year notes while trying to contain rising borrowing...

Medicare's AI models have stopped more than $1.6 billion in improper lab payments and barred $3.4 billion in suspected equipment fraud before funds...

An early-October notice from a Medicare Advantage insurer signals nonrenewal effective December 31, required under 42 CFR 422.506 at least 90 days...

财政部长Bessent主导的长期国债回购计划周三将公布具体规模，重点锁定10年和20年期国债，起始规模至少40亿美元，可能升至50-60亿美元甚至更高，旨在压制收益率、维持市场功能并管理债务供应。 此举双倍于常规操作，凸显积极债务管理意图，但也引发对国债市场可信度的担忧。

• Advocates say a flat-rate COLA at the 20th percentile boosts low earners and delays insolvency by two years.
• Critics calculate 80% of...

Rick Jackson vows to close Georgia’s coverage gap “on day one” with “intelligent” Medicaid expansion, but provides no clear path to eligibility rules,...

Large corporations can resolve federal tax issues in real time with the IRS before filing returns through the 2027 Compliance Assurance Process,...

Federal Circuit rejects treaty-based foreign tax credits against NIIT for US citizens in Canada and France.

• Treasury proposes stripping 501(c)(3)...