Billy Wynne

Agency Solicits Public Comment and Expertise to Inform Measure Development for Medicaid HCBS and Medicare HHVBP The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently opened a public comment opportunity related to Medicaid home and community based services (HCBS) quality measure development, reliability, and usability. Details about the opportunity follow. Measure: Hospitalization for Ambulatory Care…

Senator Cassidy Releases White Paper on Artificial Intelligence; Requests Feedback on Framework to Regulate the Technology by September 22 Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a white paper on artificial intelligence (AI) discussing AI’s potential benefits and risks to society. Sen. Cassidy is…

Innovation Center Announces New Voluntary, State TCOC Model; Applications Due Spring 2024 Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) announced (model website) it is planning to test a new voluntary, state total cost of care (TCOC) model to address unsustainable health care cost growth, poor population health, and disparities in health outcomes. The States…

Mental Health Policy Update Following the COVID-19 pandemic, key mental health indicators across the country have been declining, particularly among youth. Policymakers are also concerned with the ability of the healthcare system to meet the demand of increasing substance use and mental health challenges. Addressing the mental health crisis is a rare bipartisan issue in…

HHS Announces Funding, New Resources in Recognition of International Overdose Awareness Day and Recovery Month This week the Biden-Harris Administration announced additional funding and resources to help address the opioid overdose epidemic and support substance use disorder recovery. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) states that through the HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy the…

Comment Period for Proposed Remedy for 340B Drug Payments for CY 2018-2022 Extended to September 11 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an extension of the comment period for the proposed remedy for 340B drug payments for calendar years (CY) 2018 through 2022. The original comment deadline was September 5, but comments…

CMS Directs States to Fix “Ex-parte” Autorenewal Processes to Stop Medicaid & CHIP Enrollees from Erroneously Losing Coverage During the PHE Unwind Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to State Medicaid Directors (letter; press release) requiring states to determine if they have an eligibility system that could cause people,…

Task Force Invites Comments on Draft Recommendation on Primary Care Interventions to Prevent Child Maltreatment; Comments Due September 25 The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is requesting comment on a draft recommendation statement and draft evidence review on primary care interventions to prevent child maltreatment. The Task Force determined that the current evidence is…

Agencies Announce Public Workshops to Discuss the 2023 Draft Merger Guidelines; First Workshop Scheduled for September 5 The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced three upcoming public workshops to encourage discussion on the 2023 Draft Merger Guidelines. Last month, the agencies jointly released a draft update of the Merger Guidelines, which…

First 10 Drugs Selected for Medicare Drug Price Negotiations   The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the first 10 drugs selected for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program for price applicability year 2026 (press release, CMS press release and fact sheet, ASPE fact sheet). Additional details follow. Drugs Selected: HHS details that the selected drugs accounted for $50.5…