Doctor and senior woman wearing facemasks during coronavirus and flu outbreak. Virus protection. COVID-2019..

With Christmas and other end-of-year holidays rushing up, the week ahead figures to be anything but comfortable for stakeholders in the healthcare industry. Members of Congress are expected to hold marathon negotiating sessions in an effort to meet the president’s goal of receiving a reform bill before Christmas. Failing success there, providers will be eager to see what kind of piecemeal moves might be made instead to stave off automatic changes Jan. 1, including a possible extension of the Medicare Part B therapy caps exception process.