Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
Health Policy Update for Friday, April 16
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Friday, April 16. The White House COVID-19 The White House announced $1.7 billion in new federal spending from the American Rescue Plan to help states and other jurisdictions improve their detection, monitoring, and mitigation of COVID-19 variants. This $1.7 billion includes $1 billion to expand genomic sequencing; $400 million to support innovation initiatives, including the launch of new innovative Centers of Excellence in Genomic Epidemiology; and $300 million to build and support a [...]
Medicaid Coverage “Cliff” Poses Threat to Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries
Nearly one-third of Medicare beneficiaries do not meet the criteria for Medicaid eligibility but have so little income that they are unlikely to be able to afford their share of their Medicare costs, such as co-pays and deductibles. This is known as the “Medicaid coverage cliff,” and Becker’s Hospital Review, drawing from a recent study published in the journal Health Affairs, takes a brief look at what the Medicaid cliff is and how it may affect the well-being of those affected by this cliff. Learn more in the Becker’s Hospital [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, April 14
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, April 14. Temporary Halt to Use of the Johnson & Johnson Janssen Vaccine The White House held a press briefing on Tuesday, April 13 during which the White House press secretary, its COVID-19 response coordinator, and Dr. Anthony Fauci discussed the decision to halt administration of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine until its safety can be further examined. Learn more from a transcript of that briefing. Representatives of the FDA and [...]
MACPAC Meets
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met for two days last week in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of the sessions. MACPAC kicked off its April meeting with a review of a draft chapter for the June 2021 report to Congress and recommendations on addressing high-cost specialty drugs. Since 2017, the Commission has been working to identify potential models that could help states address the challenges of high prices. The presentation focused on drugs that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [...]
Health Policy Update for Monday, April 12
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Monday, April 12. The White House COVID-19 The White House has posted a transcript of the April 12 press briefing provided by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials. Health Policy and Budget News The Biden administration has released its proposed FY 2022 discretionary budget, which addresses, among other things, many aspects of health care policy. Find the news release announcing the proposed budget here and the budget document itself here. Centers [...]