Policy & Regulations

This channel includes news coverage of healthcare policy and regulations set by Congress, the states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and medical associations and societies.

FDA announces recall of Pfizer's fast-tracked sickle cell drug
The drugmaker is voluntarily withdrawing Oxbryta from the market due to a higher-than-acceptable risk of death.
Public health coalition wins lawsuit against EPA for lack of fluoride oversight
A federal judge in California ruled existing evidence of the negative effects of fluoride in drinking water warrants an investigation and potential action from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Cardiology groups cheer new bill that would improve access to Medicare claims data
If passed, this bill would help clinician-led clinical registries explore Medicare data for research purposes. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and American College of Cardiology both shared public support for the bipartisan legislation.
Walmart workers sue over tobacco fees levied for health plan trust
The class action lawsuit argues employees cannot escape the fees even after they stop using tobacco, a violation of labor regulations.
HHS awards $75M for addiction and maternal health services in rural areas
The funds will be used to expand services and improve the financial stability of existing healthcare organizations located in underserved regions of the South.

Health policy priorities passed as part of shutdown deal

The stopgap spending measure funding the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years while delaying taxes on medical devices and health insurance. 

January 23, 2018

CMS administrator may face ethics investigation on Medicaid waivers

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, is asking for an investigation into allegations that CMS Administrator Seema Verma, MPH, has violated her ethics agreement by being involved with Medicaid waivers submitted by states she once counted as clients for her consulting firm.

January 22, 2018

More religious-based policies expected at HHS

The opening of a “religious freedom” division within the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) could just be the beginning of moves by new officials within the department to align health policy with the goals of evangelical religious groups.

January 22, 2018

How healthcare is affected by a government shutdown

More than 40,000 people who work at HHS and its various subagencies have been told not to come to work until Congress passes some sort of legislation to fund the federal government, affecting everything from tracking the flu season to clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health.

January 22, 2018

What happens to CHIP if government shuts down

Congress needs to reach some sort of spending deal by 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, or else the federal government will partially shut down. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which hasn’t been reauthorized in months, was wrapped in talks over a short-term spending deal, and if funding isn’t renewed, states may have to end benefits for some of the nine million children it covers.

January 19, 2018

Ethicists create framework to regulate brain technology

Ethicists from the University of Basel have developed a biosecurity framework specific to neurotechnology while calling for a ban on dual-use technology with the aim of regulating mental privacy and integrity of humans. Findings were published in Neuron.

January 18, 2018

HHS creates new religious freedom division in OCR

In a significant shift for HHS’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR), a new “Conscience and Religious Freedom Division” is being created dedicated to complaints from healthcare professionals who feel they were discriminated against due to refusing to perform certain services based on religious or moral objections.

January 18, 2018

Congressional hearing questions whether Medicaid expansion caused opioid epidemic

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, led a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee where he explored whether Medicaid expansion is at least partially to blame for the rise in opioid addiction and overdose deaths. Federal data, however, shows those problem began more than a decade earlier.

January 17, 2018

Around the web

Cardiovascular Business

Cardiology groups cheer new bill that would improve access to Medicare claims data

If passed, this bill would help clinician-led clinical registries explore Medicare data for research purposes. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and American College of Cardiology both shared public support for the bipartisan legislation.

Cardiovascular Business

Watchdog group, fearful of fraud, wants more oversight for remote patient monitoring

Cardiologists and other physicians may soon need to provide much more information when ordering remote patient monitoring for Medicare patients.

Cardiovascular Business

Most recalled cardiovascular devices gained FDA approval with little to no clinical evidence

Why are so many cardiovascular devices involved in Class I recalls? One possible reason could be the large number of devices hitting the market without undergoing much premarket clinical testing.