Dr. Mehmet Oz, a tv personality who lost his bid for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat two years ago, is President-Elect Trump’s nominee as the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

President-Elect Trump has chosen Kevin Hassett, an economist currently working as a fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, to head the National Economic Council (NEC). The NEC works closely with the Treasury Department as a hands-on policy-making team.

NAIFA State Government Relations Manager, Bianca Alonso Weiss, attended NCOIL’s Annual Fall Meeting on November 21-23, where she had the opportunity to strengthen NAIFA’s relationships with state legislators and industry trade partners, as well as advocate for key priorities affecting NAIFA members. Several NCOIL sessions discussed topics of interest to NAIFA.

NAIFA’s Policy Director Roger Moore attended NAIC’s Fall National Meeting, November 16-19. During the meeting, NAIC committees and working groups discussed multiple topics of interest to NAIFA members, including long-term care insurance, privacy protections, the use of artificial intelligence in insurance, producer licensing, and annuity standards. Additionally, a slate of new officers was elected for 2025, including Commissioner John Godfried (ND) as President; Commissioner Scott A. White (VA) as President-Elect; Director Elizabeth Dwyer (RI) as Vice President; and Commissioner John Pike (UT) as Secretary-Treasurer. The new officers will assume their duties beginning January 1, 2025.

CMS is proposing actions in the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Part D prescription drug programs to continue to strengthen protections and access to care for people with Medicare. The proposed rule aims to hold MA and Part D plans more accountable for delivering high-quality coverage so that people with Medicare are connected to the care they need when they need it.

Donald Trump’s victory was declared when, at just about 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 6, the media projected he had won swing state Wisconsin, taking him over the 270-vote electoral college count needed to win the presidency. 

Republicans will control the Senate in the incoming 119th Congress (2025-2026). The GOP’s undisputed win of 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats means Democrats have lost control of the upper chamber in the 119th Congress.

Republicans won the 218 seats needed to control the House; it will give the GOP the “trifecta”—a clean sweep of all three levers of legislative power in Washington.

A number of key issues remain to be addressed by the outgoing 118^th Congress. They include the need to fund the government past the December 20 dates on which current funding authority expires. The government funding issues include extension of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) authority and funding.

If, as expected, the GOP controls both the House and Senate next year, the risks and challenges of the 2025 tax bill have become a bit clearer. Here is a run-down.

Incoming President-Elect Donald Trump’s Administration is likely to roll back a plethora of regulations of concern to NAIFA members and their clients.

On November 1, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the inflation-adjusted limits for contributions in 2025 to retirement and other benefit plans. 

Four Democratic Senators have introduced legislation that would subject pass-through (non-corporate) business income to payroll (Social Security/Medicare) taxes. Currently, many pass-through businesses (S corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships) characterize some of their business income as dividends or other non-wage income and thus avoid having to include it in the payroll tax base.

On October 7, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo sent a memo to staff outlining heightened enforcement against illegal non-compete agreements. The 17-page memo outlines Abruzzo’s intention to assess costs to violators of the non-compete rules. In addition, the memo to staff indicates Abruzzo’s intention to challenge employer policies that require employees to repay training costs or other penalties if they leave within a specified time frame.

On September 26 President Biden signed into law the three-month funding bill that avoided a government shutdown on October 1. The continuing resolution (CR) extended fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding levels until December 20 and made few (none of them controversial) policy changes. So, the tough issues—e.g., FY 2025 funding levels, whether to block certain regulations (including the fiduciary rule)—were left to be resolved during the November-December lame duck session of the 118^th Congress.

On September 12, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to lay the groundwork for the 2025 tax bill effort to cut down on “tax avoidance.” The hearing highlighted proposals to improve tax equity in current law. It also focused considerable discussion on section 199A, the deduction for qualifying noncorporate business income.

The premium tax subsidies that allow lower-income individuals to get Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance free or at reduced cost are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. If the current subsidies do expire, millions of low-income individuals will face significant health insurance cost increases. Extension of the subsidies will be a key issue in the 2025 tax bill and/or during the November-December lame-duck session of the 118^th Congress.

The ENABLE Act, a bill that makes permanent three provisions of the ABLE account law, passed the Senate under a unanimous consent agreement on September 19. The bill, the ENABLE Act, was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), the author of the original ABLE Act, and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and in the House by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA).

Private sector economists, including the respected Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), are sounding the alarm over the cost of both presidential candidates’ tax proposals. This suggests the 2025 tax bill will be as much about revenue as tax policy.

A New York Congressman, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), is planning a long-term care conference for this spring. He wants wide participation to create and enact legislation to address the long-term care needs of the U.S. population.