Billy Wynne

White House Releases Memo Outlining Advantages of the Rural Funding in Reconciliation Package The White House released a memo outlining additional background information on the purpose and promise of the Rural Health Transformation Program. Congress’s recent budget reconciliation package included the Rural Health Transformation Program as a compromise to address concerns about the impact of…

Agency Releases Drug Use and Mental Health Survey Data and Other Behavioral Health Updates The Trump Administration has recently made several announcements related to behavioral health, detailed below. RFJ Announces Press Conference to Address Opioid 7-OH The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), alongside Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, Deputy…

Agency Requests Public Comment on Gender Affirming Care for Minors, Due September 26 The Federal Trade Commission has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public comment on gender-affirming care (GAC) for minors (press release). The RFI suggests that medical providers, clinics, and advocacy organizations may be “misleading” consumers, particularly minors and their families, by…

White House Issues Executive Order to Promote Institutional Solutions for Individuals with Mental Illness Experiencing Homelessness President Trump issued an Executive Order implementing the Administration’s vision to reduce homelessness by redirecting federal investments to promote substance use disorder treatment and mental health institutional placements for individuals with mental illness. The EO argues that a new…

Proposed Rule Exempts Home Health and Personal Care Aides from Federal Minimum Wage and Overtime Requirements The Department of Labor (DOL) proposed to rescind 2013 regulations and return to 1975 regulations that would exempt home health and personal care aides from minimum wage and overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The proposed rule…

FTC and DOJ Hold Second Listening Session on Ways to Make Prescription Drugs More Affordable; Focuses on PBM and Patent Reform Pursuant to President Trump’s executive order on Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First, today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with the Departments of Justice (DOJ), Health and Human Services (HHS),…

Department Issues NPRM to Restore Firearm Rights for Select Individuals; Comments Due On October 20 The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to establish a formal process allowing certain individuals, currently prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law, to apply for the restoration of their gun rights (press release). The…

Ways and Means Health and Oversight Committees Examine Medicare Advantage; Prior Authorization and Upcoding Highlighted  The Ways and Means Health and Oversight Subcommittees  held a joint hearing to examine the Medicare Advantage (MA) and potential reforms to the program. Witnesses emphasized that while MA is beneficial for many Medicare beneficiaries, certain actions could be taken…

Task Force Issues Final Research Plan for Tobacco Cessation Interventions in Adults Amid Uncertainty Over the Task Force’s Future Stability The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released a final research plan on interventions for tobacco cessation in adults. This research plan incorporates feedback from the draft plan issued in February 2025, and aims to…

Analysis Finds that NIH Funding Cuts and Increased FDA Review Times would Lead to 53 Fewer New Drug Approvals At the request of ranking Democrats on the House and Senate health and budget committees, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assessed how two hypothetical policy changes – a 10 percent permanent reduction in National Institutes of…