�Թϲ�����

Healthcare stakeholders are watching in horror as the fate of a number of critical healthcare programs has gotten bound up in Congress' intractable political battle over immigration. The short-term continuing budget resolution approved by lawmakers Jan. 22 to keep the federal government open through Feb. 8 provided a big jolt of relief by extending funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program for six years, ensuring coverage for nearly 9 million kids. Medical-device makers, insurers and employers were pleased by provisions delaying enforcement of three Affordable Care Act taxes affecting them, which the Congressional Budget Office said would cost the Treasury $31 billion. (Meyer, 1/27)

Several groups are pleading with Congress to permanently fund diabetes programs, arguing the absence of long-term funding could delay promising new research and harm prevention efforts in vulnerable populations.   So far, lawmakers have provided a funding patch for the two diabetes programs that will last through March 31. But these short-term fixes come at a cost because they “do not provide the sustained ability for these programs to keep moving forward,” said Meghan Riley of the American Diabetes Association. (Roubein, 1/28)