Billy Wynne

Draft Part Two Guidance Released for Medicare Prescription Payment Plan; Comments Due March 16 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued draft part two guidance on select topics of the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (press release, fact sheet). What is it. Pursuant to the Inflation Reduction Act, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan provides…

Agency Announces Draft Research Plan on Screening and Interventions for Unhealthy Alcohol Use in Adolescents and Adults; Comments Due February 28 The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released a draft research plan on screening and behavioral counseling interventions for unhealthy alcohol use in adolescents and adults. The USPSTF’s research approach for screening and interventions…

FTC and HHS Issue Joint RFI to Understand how GPOs and Drug Wholesalers may be Contributing to Generic Drug Shortages; Comments Due April 15 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) jointly issued a request for information (RFI) regarding market concentration among large health care group purchasing…

Federal Nutrition Program Updates The Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced two updates to federal nutrition programs. Farm to Food Bank: FNS has awarded nearly $3.8 million in grants to 27 state agencies for Farm to Food Bank programs in The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Farm to Food Banks helps prevent food…

Committee Examines AI in Federal Health Programs; Sen. Wyden Announces Medicaid MCOs Inquiry On Harmful Processes The Senate Finance Committee convened a hearing to examine the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into patient care and the necessary regulations. The hearing highlighted the potential of AI in health care while addressing the need for regulations and…

Outlook Projects $1.6 Trillion Deficit in FY 2024 and Medicare Trust Fund Insolvency by 2034 The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released the budget and economic outlook for 2024 to 2034 – a regularly updated report that presents projections of federal deficit, debt, revenues, and spending over the next 10 years. Overall, the CBO projects a federal…

CMS Proposes to Hold Accrediting Organizations to the Same Standards as Medicare and Increase Oversight The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule to strengthen oversight of accrediting organizations (AOs) by addressing conflicts of interest, establishing consistent standards, and updating the validation and performance systems (fact sheet). What it is. This rule increases oversight…

House Ways and Means Committee Hearing Continues the Conversation on Preventing Drug Shortages Today, the Ways and Means Committee convened a hearing to examine drug shortages, supply chain resiliency, and the impact of shortages on providers. The hearing echoed previous Congressional discourse on the topic by focusing on generic sterile injectables, especially cancer drugs cisplatin…

HRSA Puts Out Contract Solicitation for OPTN For the first time since the creation of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) issued multiple requests for proposals (RFPs) to support the OPTN. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) has had the sole contract to run the nation’s…

Committee Advances PBM Delinking Bill The House Committee on Oversight Accountability convened a markup of H.R. 6283, the Delinking Revenue form Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act, which would delink pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reimbursement from drug cost and utilization and limit reimbursement to a bona fide service fees. The amendment in the nature of a substitute…