Medicaid Eligibility Checks, Pandemic Prep in Omnibus Bill (2)

Medicaid eligibility checks are slated to start again in April under a proposed government spending package that also includes a slate of health policy riders, according to bill text released early Tuesday.

The bill also includes provisions to boost the country’s pandemic response and improve the Food and Drug Administration’s oversight over medical products. The proposal comes as lawmakers near a Dec. 23 deadline to pass a sweeping government funding package.

“This is significant headway compared to the status quo that we were dealing with,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said on the health policy ...