On December 13, 2012, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to focus on improving care for beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee held a hearing entitled “State of Uncertainty: Implementation of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Exchanges and Medicaid Expansion.” On December 20, 2012, the Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to consider S. 1560, the Nursing Home Resident Pain Relief Act of 2011, which would make amendments to the Controlled Substances Act that are intended to help ensure that nursing home residents have timely access to pain medication in emergency situations.  Note that the markup has been postponed and not rescheduled at this time.