Billy Wynne

Agency Releases Information About Part B Prescription Drugs Subject to IRA Inflation Rebates Today, the Biden administration announced (press release; fact sheet) it will begin enforcing a provision of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on April 1 that penalizes drug companies for raising prices on Medicare prescription drugs faster than inflation. The Centers for Medicare…

CISA Establishes Ransomware Vulnerability Warning Pilot Program; Aims to Enable Mitigation Before Ransomware Incidents Occur The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the establishment of the Ransomware Vulnerability Warning Pilot (RVWP) program to identify vulnerabilities commonly associated with known ransomware exploitation and warn critical infrastructure entities with those vulnerabilities. Through the RVWP, CISA can…

Mental Health Grants for People Experiencing Homelessness, Youth, and American Indian and Alaska Native Communities The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) released a several mental health-related funding opportunities. The grants intend to provide mental healthcare for individuals experiencing homelessness, community collaborations for school-based trauma, and the promotion of the mental health of youth…

$25 Million Available to Expand Mental Health and Primary Care in Schools; Applications Due March 31 HRSA recently announced a $25 million grant opportunity to expand primary and mental health care in schools.  For the first time, applicants will be required to add or expand mental health services to receive school-based funding.  Applications are due…

Department Releases Cybersecurity Framework Implementation Guide to Help the Health Care Sector Align their Cybersecurity Programs with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) released the Health Care and Public Health (HPH) Sector Cybersecurity Framework Implementation Guide to help the health care sector…

Final Research Plan Published: Screening for Syphilis Infection in Pregnant Persons The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published a final research plan on screening for syphilis infection in pregnant persons. The draft research plan on this topic was made available for public comment from December 1, 2022 to January 4, 2023, and USPSTF says…

Agency Announces Grant Opportunity for Suicide Prevention in Health Systems The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a grant opportunity for cooperative agreements to implement the Zero Suicide intervention and prevention model in health systems. The Zero Suicide model is a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention in health systems, and recipients will…

Guidance to State Medicaid Agencies on Two New Third-Party Liability Requirements: Prior Authorization, Injury Settlements The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently issued guidance to state Medicaid agencies on two new third-party liability (TPL) requirements under current law providing states increased flexibility relating to (1) prior authorization and (2) injury settlements.   Increased State…

Director Presents Options to Reduce Spending in Medicaid and Other Health Care Programs to House Energy and Commerce Republicans The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) Director laid out options to reduce spending in Medicaid and other health care programs, including Medicare Advantage, in a presentation to House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans (Presentation). The presentation provided…

FNS Announces Pilot Program for SNAP Mobile Payment in Five States The Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced that it is partnering with five states to test mobile payment technology in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP participants in Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Oklahoma will be able to use…