This month’s briefing covers DOJ’s approach to implementing its final rule on what’s now called the Data Security Program. The Trump administration also published a final rule on Medicare Advantage (MA), choosing not to...more
With Democrats having slight majorities in the House and Senate and Joe Biden in the White House, the Congressional Review Act (CRA) becomes an available tool to potentially vacate certain regulations that the outgoing Trump...more
We are at a major crossroads in U.S. health policy. The direction for American health care in 2021 and beyond will depend in large part on events that are unfolding now, and that will come to fruition in the first half of...more
On October 3, President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) focused on the Medicare program, titled, “Executive Order on Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation’s Seniors.” The EO offers expected political...more
President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) aimed at improving health care price and quality transparency. While it requires few immediate changes, it foreshadows future requirements for health care providers and health...more
A federal district court in Fort Worth, Texas struck down the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) last Friday in a ruling that’s prompting questions about whether its legal reasoning will withstand further scrutiny, and whether...more
The Trump Administration released a draft regulation published in the Federal Register on October 18, 2018, which proposes to require drug manufacturers to include a drug’s list price in its direct-to-consumer (DTC)...more
On June 19, 2018, the Trump administration took the first step in a three-part effort to expand affordable health plan options for consumers when the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) finalized a proposed rule designed to make...more
Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a powerful policy tool for states in the Trump era. The provision authorizes states to waive certain ACA provisions and receive federal funding for state programs, provided...more
On Friday, October 27, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published its draft annual Proposed Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters for Calendar Year 2019. This proposal follows on the heels of a Request...more
Since last November’s election, the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been very much in doubt. It can be debated whether the health insurance exchanges (Exchanges) are in a “death spiral” as President Trump...more
On April 13, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized its Marketplace Stabilization Rule. This is the first Trump administration regulation that applies to the health insurance markets remade by...more