Billy Wynne

Department Announces Actions to Help Providers Navigate Billing Problems Following Cyber Attack on Change Healthcare; CMS to Allow Providers Submit Accelerated Payment Requests to MACs for Individual Consideration The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a statement recognizing the impact on health care operations of the cybersecurity incident affecting Change Healthcare, a unit…

Agencies Issue RFI on Health Care Consolidation, Comments due May 6th Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) jointly issued a request for information (RFI) to inform the agencies’ identification of enforcement priorities and future actions, including new regulations,…

Department Issues Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Limiting Data Transfers to Countries of Concern; Comments Due April 19 The National Security Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in response to the Executive Order of February 28, 2024, titled “Preventing Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal…

Government Accountability Office (GAO) Recommends Changes to Head Start Program Funding to Align with Community’s Child Poverty Rates The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report examining opportunities for the Head Start Program to modify its resource allocation to better meet community needs as reflected by a community’s child poverty rate. This study found that Head Start availability…

House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health Discuss Legislative Proposals to Support Patients with Rare Diseases The House Energy & Commerce (E&C) Health Subcommittee convened a legislative hearing to examine 18 bills aimed at improving patient access to treatments for rare diseases (hearing memo) – including legislation affecting the drug approval process at the Food…

USDA Equity Commission Releases Final Report With Recommendations The Department of Agriculture (USDA) convened its inaugural National Equity Summit to announce and publish the USDA Equity Commission’s final report. The Equity Commission has been working on the report since February 2022 to provide a set of actionable recommendations to modify programs, policies, practices, culture, systems, and structures…

Agency Releases Final Part One Guidance for Medicare Prescription Payment Plan; Establishes $600 POS Threshold The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued final part one guidance on a select set of topics for the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (MPPP), which requires all Medicare prescription drug plans to offer their Part D enrollees the option to pay…

EHC Program Requesting Public Comment on Evidence Map on Home and Community-Based Services The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ’s) Effective Health Care (EHC) Program has an opportunity to support the development of a review entitled, “Evidence Map on Home and Community-Based Services.” This technical brief aims to survey the current body of literature…

President Biden Issues Executive Order to Protect Sensitive Personal Data from Countries of Concern; Forthcoming NPRM Will Outline Regulatory Framework and Exemptions President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) aimed at safeguarding Americans’ sensitive personal data from exploitation by countries of concern. This order represents a significant step to enhance data security and prevent large-scale…

NIST Releases Version 2.0 of Cybersecurity Framework; Update Includes Expanded Scope and New Cybersecurity Function The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released version 2.0 of its Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), marking a significant update since its inception in 2014. The new version expands the framework’s applicability to all organizations, irrespective of their industry or…