On May 20, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized a consent order with private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (Welsh Carson) and its affiliates, resolving allegations that the firm orchestrated a years-long consolidation strategy in Texas’s anesthesiology market through its portfolio company, U.S. Anesthesia Partners (USAP) (press release). According to the FTC, Welsh Carson created USAP and… (Eisen, May 21, 2025) #Hospitals, #Transparency

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing to review the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This marked Secretary Kennedy’s third congressional appearance this month, following testimony before the House Appropriations subcommittee and the Senate Health,… (Eisen, May 20, 2025) #Budget

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary and Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) released a new framework for COVID-19 vaccination, in which the agency will recommend vaccination for adults over the age of 64 and all persons above the age of 6 months with one or more risk factors that put them at high… (Slifer, May 20, 2025) #Food and Drug Administration, #Public Health

Pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on Delivering Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the agencies have identified specific MFN targets pharmaceutical manufacturers are expected to meet to satisfy the requirements of the Executive Order.  Basis for MFN… (Slifer, May 20, 2025) #Drug Pricing, #Prescription Drugs

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a request for information (RFI) to begin its process of reviewing nutrition requirements in infant formulas. FDA regularly reviews individual nutrient requirements but has not undertaken a comprehensive review of the minimum and maximum levels for certain nutrients since 1998. FDA now seeks public input to help determine whether existing requirements should be revised or adjusted…. (McClurg, May 16, 2025) #Nutrition, #Pediatrics

The House Budget Committee convened a markup of the combined legislative package of the eleven House Committees pursuant to title II of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025, H. Con. Res. 14.  The bill was not advanced by a roll call vote of 16 ayes and 21 nos. Republican members that voted against the bill included… (Slifer, May 16, 2025) #Budget, #Insurance Coverage, #Nutrition, #Program Integrity

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report highlighting a lack of clarity and support for minors who provide unpaid care to family members with health conditions, disabilities, or functional limitations. According to the report, an estimated three to five million children may act as caregivers, yet they remain largely unrecognized in national caregiving policies and programs. The report… (Eisen, May 15, 2025) #Care Coordination, #Chronic Diseases, #Health Equity

The House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee held hearings to review the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. During the sessions, both Democratic and Republican members expressed concerns about funding freezes for research programs and significant staffing cuts. While several… (Eisen, May 14, 2025) #340B, #Budget, #Insurance Coverage, #Medicare Advantage, #Mental and Behavioral Health, #National Institutes of Health, #Public Health, #Women’s Health

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in partnership with the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC), issued a request for information (RFI) (press release) seeking input to shape future policies and infrastructure to support digital health innovation. The RFI aims to inform strategies that expand Medicare beneficiaries’ access to… (Testa, May 13, 2025) #Health Information Technology

The House Agriculture Committee released a committee print of its budget reconciliation legislation ahead of the full committee markup beginning Tuesday evening (section-by-section; overview; one-pager on state accountability; one-pager on prioritizing work in SNAP). Subtitle A deals with nutrition programs, in particular the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This plan meets the $230 billion that the Committee was instructed to save, mostly by requiring states… (McClurg, May 13, 2025) #Nutrition