Billy Wynne

New Report Finds That 12.8 Percent of U.S. Households Were Food Insecure in 2022, an Increase of 2.6 From 2021 The Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) released a report on household food security in 2022. FNS collects this data to analyze the level of food security and inform its nutrition assistance programs.…

Report Finds that the Strategic National Stockpile Was Not Equipped to Handle COVID-19 Due to Internal and External Factors The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report to determine whether the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) was effective in responding…

Subcommittee Expresses Interest in Increasing Physician Payment, Examining Quality Programs, and Reducing Administrative Burden The House Energy & Commerce (E&C) Health Subcommittee convened a hearing to discuss a wide array of proposals to increase physician payment, increase access to care, and reduce administrative burden. Members spoke with two panels which included representatives from the Administration,…

Committee Examines Ways to Improve Health Care Delivery, Reduce Federal Spending The Senate Budget Committee convened a hearing to examine ways to improve health care delivery and reduce federal health care spending in the budget. Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) intended for the hearing to set the foundation to move bipartisan legislation. Members discussed primary care…

HHS Office for Civil Rights Releases Resources to Help Educate Patients on the Privacy and Security of Protected Health Information When Using Telehealth Services The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released two patient resources to explain the privacy and security risks to patient’s protected health information (PHI) when…

2024 Medicare Parts A & B Deductibles, Premiums, Coinsurance Rates Announced The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced 2024 premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance amounts for Medicare Parts A and B in the Federal Register. The announcement came ahead of Medicare Open Enrollment, which began Sunday, October 15 and will end on Thursday, December 7, 2023. Medicare Part…

Agency Determines that Expanding the Hospital Transfer Policy Would Result in Significant Savings The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report describing potential Medicare savings from hospital transfers to post acute care (PAC) if the transfer policy were extended to all Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Groups (MS-DRGs).…

Progress Update Provided on Three Models Aimed at Prescription Drug Affordability and Access The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) provided a one-year update on President Biden’s Executive Order on Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans, which includes new details on the three selected models aimed at improving prescription drug affordability and access. CMMI notes that since the release…

NTIA Urges FCC to Establish Strong Digital Discrimination Rules to Close the Digital Divide The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to implement strong rules against digital discrimination. These rules are intended to prevent Internet service providers (ISPs) from engaging in discriminatory practices that harm vulnerable communities. The Biden…

New Digital Health Technologies Advisory Committee Announced; Nominations Sought for Voting and Nonvoting Members The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the creation of the Digital Health Advisory Committee, which is tasked with exploring issues related to digital health technologies (DHTs), including artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), augmented reality, virtual reality, digital therapeutics, wearables, remote patients monitoring, and…