HHS to Host Women's Health Conference and ORWH ACRWH Meeting

What this means for you: AUGS members can consider attending these upcoming HHS events to hear more about this Administration's priorities.

The HHS Office on Women's Health is hosting its inaugural National Conference on Women's Health in Washington DC from March 11 - 13. Registration is free, and the room block closes February 17. An agenda is not yet available.

In addition, the ORWH Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health (ACRWH) will hold its next meeting on April 7. ACRWH advises and makes recommendations to ORWH on priority issues affecting women's health and sex differences research. The April meeting will include presentations from NIH leaders and discussions on AI, chronic diseases, and the impact of microplastics on women's health across the lifespan. At a recent ACRWH meeting, there was an opportunity for public comment, and AUGS was the sole organization to provide comments, where we discussed the importance of funding women's health research across the lifespan.

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Against NIH's Indirect Cost Cap

What this means for you: The NIH remains unable to implement the 15% indirect cost cap. However, the NIH could appeal this decision, or Congress could implement a cost cap through legislation, although there seems to be bipartisan opposition to this policy on Capitol Hill, as discussed above.

In February 2025, the NIH issued guidance capping indirect cost rates at 15% for all research grants. Federal lawsuits were filed, and, in April 2025, a federal district court issued a nationwide permanent injunction prohibiting the NIH from implementing the cap. The NIH appealed that ruling to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, who, in January 2026, affirmed the lower court's ruling. It remains to be seen whether the NIH will appeal this decision to the Supreme Court. Additionally, lawmakers could enact an indirect cost cap through legislation. However, that policy was blocked in the recently released NIH FY 2026 funding bill.

Negotiations Continue for FY 2026 HHS Funding

What this means for you: The main agenda item for Congress currently is funding the government before the January 30th expiration of government funding. The HHS funding bill was released this week and largely includes priorities advanced by AUGS, although it still must pass Congress and be signed by President Trump. You can read more here about health policymaking in 2026 from our McDermott+ consultants.

On January 20, bipartisan congressional appropriators released a government funding package for HHS for FY 2026. Notably, it would provide $116.6 billion for HHS, including $48.7 billion for the NIH, a small increase compared to FY 2025. This compares to President Trump's FY 2026 request of $27.9 billion for the NIH. Specifically, the bill would provide $106 million for ORWH, $1.769 billion for NICHD, $2.3 for NIDDK, and $4.5 billion for NIA. Within ORWH, $10 million would be directed to BIRCWH to support the women's health research workforce, as requested by AUGS and the Women's First Research Coalition.

The funding bill does not include a restructuring of NIH ICs, which had been proposed by Republican lawmakers in previous sessions of Congress and opposed by AUGS. The report that accompanies the bill also explicitly notes concern with the NIH providing funding for multi-year grants upfront, which has been pushed by this administration. In the report, Congress asks the NIH to limit the amount of funds that can be obligated for awards that fully fund out-year commitments. It also would prohibit the NIH from instituting its 15% indirect cost cap policy, which has also been blocked by the courts, as discussed below. The report encourages NICHD to convene a workshop to design prospective studies related to pelvic organ prolapse.

The bill does not include an extension of the expired Marketplace subsidies, as bipartisan negotiations fell apart. However, it does include additional policies beyond HHS FY 2026 funding. For example, it would extend Medicare telehealth flexibilities through 2027 and implement pharmacy benefit manager reforms.

AUGS and WFRC Continue Advocacy with Congress and NIH

What this means for you: Now more than ever, it is essential that lawmakers hear directly from AUGS members about the importance of women's health research funding across the lifespan. AUGS members should consider signing up for the WFRC March 9 Virtual Hill Day and AMA National Advocacy Conference, and save the date for the AUGS May Virtual Hill Day.

This month, AUGS members met with NIH leaders at NICHD, NIDDK, and NIA to discuss our research priorities, including that the institutes fund women's health research across the lifespan and invest in the women's health research workforce. It also provided an opportunity for AUGS to hear from NIH leaders about their priorities and discuss how we can be of assistance. Additionally, WFRC met with ORWH to discuss the importance of women's health research, and AUGS will individually meet with ORWH at a later date to discuss our specific priorities.

AUGS members should consider engaging with the following advocacy opportunities:

AUGS Virtual Hill Day: Held during Women's Health Week, May 10 - 16. More information, including how to register, will be forthcoming. AUGS will provide a prep session in advance to discuss our legislative asks and answer any questions.
WFRC Virtual Hill Day: Register here by January 30 for the virtual Hill Day on Monday, March 9. A virtual training will be held in advance.
AMA National Advocacy Conference: Will be held in Washington, DC from February 23 - 25 and will include an afternoon of in-person Hill meetings. You can register, book a hotel room, and see the draft agenda here. Featured speakers include Mark Cuban, co-founder, Cost Plus Drugs, and Sanjay Gupta, MD, chief medical correspondent, CNN. The room block closes on January 24.

AMA Releases February 2026 CPT Editorial Panel Proposed Agenda

What this means for you: There are two tabs of interest to AUGS members: posterior tibial neurostimulator services and personalized intravaginal pessary measurement and preparation. The next CPT Editorial Panel meeting will be held in Palm Springs, California, from February 6 to 7, 2026. Members of the public can register to attend in person or virtually.

The AMA has released the Proposed Panel Agenda for the February 2026 CPT Editorial Panel meeting, which includes two items that may be of particular interest to AUGS members. Tab 16 is a request to delete existing Category III codes (0816T, 0817T, 0818T, 0819T, 0988T, and 0989T) and establish new Category I codes to report open posterior tibial neurostimulator services, along with related guideline revisions and parenthetical notes. Tab 62 is a request to establish two new Category III codes to report measurement and custom preparation of a personalized intravaginal pessary.

The CPT Editorial Panel is responsible for maintaining the CPT code set. The Panel meets three times each year-typically in February, May, and September-to review requests for changes to the code set, including adding, deleting, or revising codes and guidelines. In general, changes approved at the February 2026 meeting would be expected to become effective in the 2028 CPT code book and would be considered by Medicare as part of the 2028 rulemaking cycle for payment system updates like the Physician Fee Schedule or Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System. Members of the public may register to attend the February 2026 CPT Editorial Panel meeting in person or virtually via the AMA website.

Health Policy and Payment Update

Key takeaways: