Billy Wynne

President Biden Issues Executive Order on Strengthening Access to Contraception: Includes Actions to Improve Affordability, Expand Over-the-Counter Availability, and Support Vulnerable Populations President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) focused on improving access to affordable and high-quality contraception and family planning services (fact sheet). This order aims to address the crisis in women’s access to…

Proposed Policy for Transitional Coverage of Emerging Technologies Released; Comments Due August 26 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a notice with comment to establish the Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET) pathway for Breakthrough Devices to accelerate access to new medical technologies for Medicare beneficiaries (press release). What it is. In January 2021, the…

House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Explore Legislative Solutions to Address Consolidation and Lack of Transparency in the Health Care Market The House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions held a hearing to gather input from stakeholders to inform legislative solutions to address consolidation and lack…

Grade ‘B’ Final Recommendations Issued on Screening for Anxiety Disorders in Adults 64 Years or Younger and on Screening for Depression in Adults, Including Pregnant and Postpartum Persons, and Older Adults The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released a set of final recommendation statements on screening for anxiety disorders, depression and suicide risk in…

Actions Announced Pursuant to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act for Youth Mental Health Pursuant the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), conjunction with the Department of Education (ED) announced actions to address youth mental health and gun violence. To advance the priorities of the BSCA, HHS and the ED highlight…

June 2023 Report to Congress Includes Recommendations for High-Cost Part B Drugs, Changes to MA, Site Neutral Policies, and Wage Index Reform The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) released its June 2023 Report to Congress (press release). The report discusses the following topics: High prices of drugs covered under Medicare Part B; Post-sale rebates for prescriptions drugs…

Agency Issues Two Supplemental Evidence and Data Requests on Protein Intake Today, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) issued requests for supplemental evidence and data submission to inform two Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPC) Program reviews: Evaluation of Dietary Protein Intake Requirements and The Effect of Protein Intake on Health. AHRQ commissioned the EPC Program to…

Office of the Actuary Projects National Health Spending to Grow an Average of 5.4% Annually Over the Next Decade The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary released (press release; Health Affairs Article) projections of National Health Expenditures (NHE) and health insurance enrollment for 2022-2031. CMS projects annual NHE to grow…

PBM Delinking Bill Introduced; Updated PBM Legislation Chart The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) Leadership, including Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID), along with Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced the Patients Before Middlemen (PBM) Act (press release), which would delink pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) compensation…

Health Subcommittee Members Debate Addressing Drug Shortages in PAHPA The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee convened a hearing to continue the discussion on the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA). This is the fourth hearing the Subcommittee does on preparedness and response, including a previous bipartisan hearing with agency officials from…