Billy Wynne

Agency CBO Releases Preliminary Results on the Potential Impact of Climate Change on Medicare Beneficiaries The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released preliminary results of the potential impact of climate change on health and federal health care expenditure, with a specific focus on Medicare beneficiaries. Climate change is anticipated to disrupt average temperatures, potentially leading to…

CMS Will Continue to Require Medicaid Unwinding Data Reports Until States Complete All Unwinding-Related Renewals The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a letter sent to state Medicaid agencies regarding the extension of state reporting requirements on the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous enrollment condition. CMS notes that to date, the information reported…

Agency Issues ACO Primary Care Flex RFA; Application Questionnaire Due August 1 The Center for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) has released a Request for Application (RFA) detailing payment, care delivery, quality, and other policies for the ACO Primary Care Flex (ACO PC Flex) Model (IHPP summary). Interested applicants may apply through the application portal starting today, but must first…

Agency Examines Variations and Oversight in Medicaid’s EPSDT Prior Authorization Process The Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a study on Medicaid’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit, examining how managed care plans authorize services for children and how states oversee this process. The EPSDT benefit, mandated by federal law, ensures eligible children…

House Republicans Introduce 340B Legislation to Increase Transparency and Oversight of Program Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-IN), Buddy Carter (R-GA), and Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) introduced the 340B Affording Care for Communities and Ensuring a Strong Safety-Net (340B ACCESS) Act, which aims to increase oversight and transparency of the 340B program (press release). Additional details follow. Bill…

House Agriculture Committee Passes Farm Bill Reauthorization After Lengthy Partisan Debate The House Agriculture Committee convened a markup of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act (H.R. 8467), the House Republicans’ proposal to reauthorize the Farm Bill. There were several areas of disagreement, most notably the provision that would prevent a future Secretary from increasing the value…

2024 Resources for Gag Clause Prohibition Compliance Attestation The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released 2024 resources for the attestation of compliance with the prohibition on gag clauses on price and quality information in provider agreements (instructions; user manual, and template). Background. Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, group health plans and…

Senate Finance Committee Members Debate Policies to Combat Illicit Fentanyl, Agree on the Benefits of Telehealth for Behavioral Health Services The Senate Finance Committee convened a hearing to discuss opportunities in the health care system to improve addiction treatment, grow primary prevention, and combat the fentanyl public health crisis. Democrats used the hearing to ask…

House Budget Committee Discuss Addressing Consolidation in Health Care Markets, PBM Reform, Rising Costs, and Medicare Physician Fees EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The House Budget Committee convened a hearing to discuss the budgetary effects of increasing health care consolidation and explored policy solutions to enhance competition and reduce health care costs. With bipartisan consensus emerging on critical…

USDA Announces Summer Nutrition Programs to Help Tackle Hunger and Improve Healthy Eating for Children The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced the launch of SUN Programs: USDA’s Summer Nutrition Programs for Kids to address nutrition security during the summer months (press release). These programs offer families various options to…