Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force Releases Best Practices and Recommendations for Youth Online Safety The Biden-Harris Administration’s Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force released a new report containing recommendations and best practices for the safe use of social media and online platforms for youth. The Task Force is co-led by multiple federal agencies including the U.S. Department… (Marceno, July 23, 2024) #Coverage Decisions, #Insurance Coverage, #Mental and Behavioral Health, #Public Health

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability convened its third hearing on the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in prescription drugs markets, with executives from Evernorth Care Management & Express Scripts, CVS Caremark, and OptumRx testifying before the Committee. Our summaries for parts one and two can be found here and here. The three PBM executives highlighted the pivotal… (Slifer, July 23, 2024) #Drug Pricing, #Pharmacy Benefit Managers, #Prescription Drugs

The Coalition for Health AI (CHAI), a nonprofit comprising various health systems and technology vendors, published a draft framework to ensure the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care (executive summary). This draft, created by tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, seeks to establish a consensus among stakeholders on the best ways to regulate AI. The… (Colocho, July 18, 2024) #Health Information Technology, #Transparency

Recently, Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Todd Young (R-IN), and Angus King (I-ME) introduced the bipartisan Healthcare Cybersecurity Act (S.4697) to address the growing cybersecurity threats in the healthcare and public health sectors. The bill aims to strengthen cybersecurity infrastructure by mandating collaboration between the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The… (Colocho, July 17, 2024) #Health Information Technology, #Hospitals, #Privacy

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced that USDA is awarding $14.3 million in funding for 154 Farm to School grant projects in 43 states, the largest investment in the program to date. These grants are intended to help school food authorities collaborate with local food producers to incorporate more local foods into school meals. Students also learn about nutrition and… (McClurg, July 17, 2024) #Nutrition, #Pediatrics

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final part two guidance for the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (M3P), which provides Part D enrollees the option to pay out-of-pocket (OOP) prescription drug costs in monthly payments over the course of the year (press release, fact sheet, timeline). What is it. While the part one final guidance (Impact summary)… (Slifer, July 16, 2024) #Medicare Part D, #Prescription Drugs

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking nominations for a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) to refine the scoring methodology for the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Quality Incentive Program (QIP). This program assesses and incentivizes the quality of care dialysis facilities provide to ESRD patients. Details about the TEP are below. Title: End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Quality Incentive Program… (Eisen, July 15, 2024) #End-Stage Renal Disease, #Quality

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation convened a full committee hearing to examine the need for federal privacy legislation in light of rising concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) exacerbating consumer harms. The hearing marked a significant move by the Senate towards privacy legislation, following a period of relative inactivity since the April release of the American Privacy Rights… (Colocho, July 12, 2024) #Health Information Technology, #Privacy, #Transparency

A series of recent Supreme Court decisions has reshaped the regulatory landscape, further shifting power away from the executive and legislative branches to the judiciary branch. Taken together, the decisions intensify an ongoing trend of lawsuits challenging administrative agency actions. These rulings are expected to lead to a dramatic increase in litigation, which will make it even harder for agencies… (Testa, July 12, 2024) #Affordable Care Act, #Coverage Decisions, #Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH), #Drug Pricing, #Essential Health Benefits, #Health Insurance Exchanges, #Hospitals, #Insurance Coverage, #Medicare Access and Chip Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), #Physicians, #Post-Acute Care, #Prevention, #Program Integrity, #Public Health, #Qualified Health Plans, #Risk Adjustment

Today, the House Appropriations Committee held a markup session for three fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills covering labor, health and human services, education, transportation, housing and urban development, and agriculture, rural development, and food and drug administration and revised subcommittee allocations. All bills were successfully advanced out of committee, with voting strictly along party lines. The markup session included… (Eisen, July 10, 2024) #Budget, #Costs, #Drug Pricing, #Food and Drug Administration, #Health Equity, #Hospitals, #Housing, #Prevention, #Primary Care, #Public Health, #Quality, #Social Determinants of Health, #Tobacco, #Women’s Health, #Workforce