H.R. 986 would prohibit the Departments of Health and Human Services and the Treasury from taking any action to implement or enforce the regulatory guidance entitled “State Relief and Empowerment Waivers” or from issuing similar guidance in the future. Under current law and this legislation, waivers are required to be budget neutral. Changes to waiver approvals could affect direct spending and revenues; however, CBO and JCT do not have a basis for estimating that the budgetary effects of the bill would be significantly different than under current law because no states have submitted a waiver application under the guidance that would eliminated by this legislation. As a result, CBO and JCT estimate that H.R. 986 would not have a significant effect on direct spending or revenues over the 2019-2029 period.
