Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) early this morning released the $1.7 trillion fiscal year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure in the next couple of days and send it to the House to be approved before the current Continuing Resolution runs out on December 23. The omnibus includes $772.5 billion for… (Lewis, December 20, 2022) #Budget, #Graduate Medical Education (GME), #Housing, #Mental and Behavioral Health, #National Institutes of Health, #Nutrition, #Physicians, #Telehealth, #Women’s Health

The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis held a final hearing on how to prevent and prepare for future public health emergencies and formally adopted its final report (WHG Summary of the report here). Democrats supported the report’s recommendations and called for continued support to advance vaccine technology and support America’s workforce. Republicans expressed concern that the report did not… (Colocho, December 16, 2022) #COVID-19, #Prevention, #Public Health, #Workforce

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the Basic Health Program (BHP) funding methodology for program year 2023. The methodology determines federal payment amounts to states that elect to operate a BHP, a coverage option for individuals under age 65 with household incomes between 133 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), who are not… (Llamas, Slifer, December 16, 2022) #Insurance Coverage

The Biden Administration announced its COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan, a list of government actions and resources to increase access to vaccinations, testing, and treatments as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations increase. The plan includes the following resources: Free-at home, rapid COVID-19 tests: Beginning today, U.S. households can order a total of four at-home COVID-19 tests from the U.S. Postal Service at… (Llamas, December 15, 2022) #COVID-19, #Public Health

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Contract Year (CY) 2024 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage (MA) program and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program (Part D) (press release). What it is. The proposed rule includes proposals intended to enhance beneficiary protections, advance health equity, and improve access to behavioral health and prescription drugs in… (Slifer, December 14, 2022) #Health Equity, #Medicare Advantage, #Medicare Part D, #Mental and Behavioral Health

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) requesting public comment on its proposal to modify regulations regarding medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder. What it is: In this rule, HHS proposes to modify certain provisions of part 8 of the Controlled Substances… (Colocho, December 13, 2022) #COVID-19, #Health Equity, #Opioids, #Public Health, #Telehealth

The Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis was established in April 2020 to investigate the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee recently released its final report summarizing efforts to date and outlining recommendations for the future.  Entitled, “Preparing for and Preventing the Next Public Health Emergency:  Lessons Learned from the Coronavirus Crisis,”… (Joyce, December 13, 2022) #COVID-19, #Prevention, #Public Health

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) issued a Request for Information (RFI) on creating a National Health Care System Action Alliance to Advance Patient Safety (Action Alliance) to support sustained improvements in patient safety. The Action Alliance is intended to support improvements across health care delivery systems and between settings of care, considering issues of equity as it… (Colocho, December 13, 2022) #Health Equity, #Quality, #Workforce

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2024 HHS Notice of Benefit Payment Parameters proposed rule (press release) – a wide-ranging rule affecting Marketplaces and qualified health plans in the individual and small group markets.   What it is. The proposed rule makes changes to the rules governing Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans, insurance standards, and… (Llamas, Slifer, LaRosa, December 12, 2022) #Health Insurance Exchanges

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report finding that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should improve oversight of online tobacco retailers. OIG notes that online tobacco marketing and sales may be especially dangerous for youth tobacco use because of the multitude of ways that minors use the internet. OIG first describes FDA’s authority to regulate… (McClurg, December 9, 2022) #Pediatrics, #Tobacco