Billy Wynne

Federal District Judge Temporary Blocks Reductions in Force During Government Shutdown; Senate Fails to Advance Federal Worker Relief Bills Amid Partisan Disagreements According to court filings, around 4,000 federal employees were laid off on October 10, following threats from the Trump Administration and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought to continue reductions-in-force…

Committee Expresses Support for Increased Transparency of 340B Program, Including Revenue, PBMs, and Contract Pharmacies The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing to examine the growth of the 340B Drug Pricing Program. A representative from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) spoke to recommendations to improve the program and a representative…

Agency Releases WISeR Model Operational Guide for Providers and Suppliers The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an operational guide for providers and suppliers impacted by the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) model. The Innovation Center’s WISeR model will implement technology-enabled prior authorization in Traditional Medicare for a select set of services to help providers steer…

Agency Issues Guidance Furthering Restricting Emergency Medicaid for Non-Citizens, Updates Instructions for Medicaid Managed Care Plans The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance to states that the agency is updating its interpretation of section 1903(v) of the Social Security Act, which sets the conditions for federal funds to be used for the…

Committee Releases Report on Generic Pharmaceutical Supply Chain; Provide Policy Recommendations The Senate Special Committee on Aging released a report titled “Protecting Seniors’ Access to Essential Medications: Securing the Foreign Generic Pharmaceutical Supply Chain” (press release). This follows two Committee hearings on the national security and public health crisis caused by America’s dependence on foreign-made…

Agency Releases Innovation in Behavioral Health (IBH) Model Notice of Funding Opportunity for Cohort 2; Applications Due June 3, 2026 The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI/Innovation Center) released a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the second cohort of the Innovation in Behavioral Health Model (IHPP Summary). Previously, Michigan, New York, Oklahoma, and South…

President Trump Announces Actions to Lower IVF Drug Costs and Expand Fertility Care Access; Unveils Third Most-Favored-Nation Agreement with EMD Serono Yesterday, President Trump announced new actions aimed at reducing the cost and improving access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and fertility care. This includes the third Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) agreement with EMD Serono, the manufacturer…

Agency Instructs MACs to Hold Claims During Shutdown In a special edition of the MLN Connects newsletter, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it has directed Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to hold all Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, ground ambulance transport, and Federally Qualified Health Center claims with dates of service on…

President Trump Issues Executive Order to Restructure Federal Hiring and Workforce Oversight; Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Shutdown RIFs President Trump issued an executive order (EO) establishing new policies to centralize oversight of federal hiring decisions, limit workforce expansion, and ensure that staffing aligns with administration priorities (fact sheet). The EO tightens and formalizes control over…

States Have Until November 1st to Make SNAP Work Requirement Changes Operational The Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) sent a policy memorandum to states about the implementation of changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements in H.R. 1, which has now been made public. The memorandum reminds states that the changes were…