Billy Wynne

HHS Targets Gender-Affirming Care and Undermines Medical Consensus in New Review Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Office of Population Affairs, released a 400-page review of research on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Although the report does not issue clinical guidelines…

Committee Marks Up Education Portion of Reconciliation; Democrats Highlight Concerns about Medicaid and Nutrition Program Access for Students The House Education & Workforce Committee held a markup of its reconciliation text concerning education programs and student loans. While most of the markup was focused on proposed changes to student loan programs, a few Democrats took the opportunity to…

Trump Signs EO Aimed at Identifying and Cutting Off Federal Funds for Sanctuary Cities; Agency Action Required by May 28 President Trump signed an Executive Order titled Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens, aimed at reinforcing federal immigration law and penalizing jurisdictions that defy it—commonly referred to as “sanctuary” jurisdictions. The order asserts the constitutional…

Trump Administration Pursues Several Actions to Implement Executive Order Restricting Federal Support for Gender-Affirming Care Since taking office, the Trump Administration has escalated efforts to limit access to evidence-based gender-affirming care for minors. Today, the Administration released a fact sheet outlining steps taken to implement Executive Order 14187, Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,…

OSTP Releases Over 10,000 Public Comments on AI Action Plan; Trump Signs EO Launching National Initiative to Expand AI Education and Workforce Development The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released over 10,000 public comments received in response to a Request for Information (RFI) aimed at shaping the Trump administration’s AI Action…

Chair Cassidy Releases Proposals to Increase Independent Workers Access to Health Care and Retirement Benefits Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a white paper with proposals to increase independent workers access to health care and retirement benefits (press release). Policy Recommendations The white paper is…

OMB Currently Reviewing Draft Proposed Medicaid Rule Related to Provider Taxes The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is currently reviewing a draft proposed Medicaid rule related to provider taxes. The draft rule is entitled, “Preserving Medicaid Funding for Vulnerable Populations – Closing a Health Care-Related Tax Loophole (CMS-2448),” and arrived for review…

Comission Presents Overview of Medicaid Payment and Financing, Commissioners Defend Provider Taxes The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) convened a session focused on providing an overview of the major components of Medicaid financing and the Federal-state partnership. The presentation provided additional context for recent national discussions related to Medicaid improper payments and…

FDA Announces Steps to Phase Out Eight Food Dyes; News Reports Show Staff Cuts are Impacting Food Reviews Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be taking a series of steps to remove eight petroleum-based synthetic food dyes from the food…

Medicaid Update:  12 Republican House Members Sign Letter Regarding Medicaid Cuts; House E&C Likely to Begin Mark-Up May 7 Republican Letter  Earlier this week, 12 Republican House members sent a letter to Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Scalise, Majority Whip Emmer, and Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee Chairman Gutherie regarding Medicaid cuts that are being considered in the…