Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division announced that they are extending the deadline for public comment on whether to issue updated guidance on collaborations among competitors (press release). The extension is intended to give stakeholders additional time to provide more comprehensive input on modernizing guidance for the business community. The effort builds on… (Eisen, April 17, 2026) <span style="font-size:90%;

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee convened a hearing to examine how increasing competition, particularly from generics and biosimilars, can lower prescription drug prices. Witnesses representing health policy, industry-aligned research, and consumer advocacy perspectives discussed regulatory barriers, market dynamics, and policy reforms needed to improve access to lower-cost medicines while maintaining incentives for innovation. Witnesses, Dr. Brian Miller,… (Colocho, April 17, 2026) #340B, #Affordable Care Act, #Drug Pricing, #Food and Drug Administration, #Generic Drugs, #Pharmacies, #Pharmacy Benefit Managers, #Prescription Drugs, #Transparency

The House Energy & Commerce (E&C) Subcommittee on Health convened a hearing to consider a series of legislative proposals aimed at strengthening public health across prevention, early detection, care delivery, and biomedical innovation. The hearing featured broad bipartisan engagement on initiatives spanning community health centers, cancer screening and detection, infectious disease surveillance, and rare disease research. After a period in… (Eisen, April 15, 2026) #Community Health Centers, #Nutrition, #Public Health

Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) introduced the Every Dollar Counts Act (H.R.8270), legislation that would require health plans to count patient spending on covered prescription drugs toward their deductibles and maximum out-of-pocket limits, regardless of where the drugs are purchased. According to Rep. Murphy, the bill is aimed at addressing gaps in current insurance design, where drugs purchased through direct-to-consumer platforms… (Colocho, April 16, 2026) #340B, #Biosimilars, #Cost-Sharing, #Generic Drugs, #Prescription Drugs

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the 2026 KidneyX EMPOWER Prize Challenge and new work on interoperability in the kidney care ecosystem. KidneyX is a Kidney Innovation Accelerator public-private partnership between HHS and the American Society of Nephrology. EMPOWER Prize Challenge: The challenge will be a $4 million national competition to accelerate innovation supporting living kidney donors and kidney recipients. Winners will… (McClurg, April 15, 2026) #Health Information Technology, #Public Health

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) convened a session to review findings from a policy scan and literature review on Medicaid coverage of assistive technology (AT) for adults receiving home- and community-based services (HCBS). MACPAC staff described AT as a broad set of items that support individuals in maintaining or improving functional capabilities and emphasized that HCBS… (Colocho, April 14, 2026) #Coverage Decisions, #Waivers