HHS Dept.

via Politico:

Trump expected to select Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead HHS

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate former presidential candidate and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a person with direct knowledge of the selection.

The expected pick, which will roil many public health experts, comes after Trump promised to let Kennedy “go wild” with health and food policy in his administration after Kennedy dropped his own presidential bid to endorse the now-president-elect. It’s also a sign of the opening Trump sees after he scored a decisive electoral victory and Republicans won a comfortable majority in the Senate.

Trump could still select someone else for the post. The Trump transition couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

“He’s going to help make America healthy again. … He wants to do some things, and we’re going to let him get to it,” Trump said in his victory speech. “Go have a good time, Bobby.”

I'll be honest: While I've seen several headlines about this crisis over the past couple of weeks I really don't know enough about it to add any commentary, so for now I'll just repost the official statement from the Health & Human Services Dept:

HHS Statement Regarding the Cyberattack on Change Healthcare

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is aware that Change Healthcare – a unit of UnitedHealth Group (UHG) – was impacted by a cybersecurity incident in late February. HHS recognizes the impact this attack has had on health care operations across the country. HHS’ first priority is to help coordinate efforts to avoid disruptions to care throughout the health care system.

Via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services:

CMS marked another important maternal health milestone by approving Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) postpartum coverage expansion in Rhode Island, an opportunity made possible by the American Rescue Plan. With this approval, 32 states and D.C. have extended postpartum Medicaid/CHIP coverage to a full year.

They include links to the approval letters for both Medicaid and CHIP, but the Medicaid one is oddly both extremely brief ("We received your request; it has been approved") and wonky at the same time, while not being in an easy-to-copy text format.

Here's the CHIP letter, however:

Dear Ms. Sousa:

Via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services:

Arizona became the latest state to extend postpartum coverage for individuals enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, following CMS’ approval of the state’s postpartum coverage extension state plan amendments (SPAs). The opportunity to extend this coverage was made possible by the American Rescue Plan, and this approval marks 31 states and D.C. that have extended postpartum Medicaid/CHIP coverage to a full year.

I have no idea why the administration hasn't put out a formal standalone press release about this...they've done so for every other state to my knowledge (including Oklahoma just two weeks ago), but whatever; it's still good news!

Arizona Senate Bill 1292 was introduced by Democratic state Representative Rosanna Gabaldon in February. Here's the most relevant portionf of the legislative text:

Title 20, chapter 1, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section 20-123, to read:

20-123. Health care insurers; requirements; prohibitions; definitions

A. Notwithstanding any other law, every health care insurer that offers an individual health care plan, short-term limited duration insurance or a small employer group health care plan in this state:

1. Shall:

(a) Ensure that all products sold cover essential health care benefits.

(b) Limit cost sharing for the coverage of essential health care benefits, including deductibles, coinsurance and copayments.

Obviously much of this is unlikely to actually go anywhere given House Republicans plans to almost completely defund the ACA and completely gut Medicaid overall, but as President Biden always says, "Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget—and I’ll tell you what you value.”

So, you know...there's that. Via the HHS Dept:

HHS Releases President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Proposed Budget 

Investments address urgent needs to extend Medicare solvency, lower drug costs, bolster public health preparedness, improve the well-being of children and seniors, expand access to health care, increase the health care workforce, and advance research underlying medicine, public health, and social services

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services:

As part of Biden-Harris Administration efforts to strengthen Medicaid, new guidance will help states expand access to health care services and tackle unmet social needs

Today, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is releasing guidance on an innovative opportunity for states to address health-related social needs for people with Medicaid coverage through the use of “in lieu of services and settings” in Medicaid managed care. This option will help states offer alternative benefits that take aim at a range of unmet health-related social needs, such as housing instability and food insecurity, to help enrollees maintain their coverage and to improve their health outcomes. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to protecting and strengthening Medicaid. Today’s action is CMS’ latest step to drive innovation in the Medicaid program, strengthen access to care, improve population health, and reduce health disparities.

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), approved Medicaid section 1115 demonstration initiatives in Arizona that will help the state take aim at health-related social needs. Like recently approved demonstrations in Oregon and Massachusetts, Arizona’s demonstration will test innovative interventions that target critical drivers of health outcomes, including housing insecurity.                     

“Everyone deserves the chance to receive the care they need to live safe and healthy lives,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “We are proud to work with Arizona in this groundbreaking effort. We will continue doing all we can to strengthen Medicaid, and urge states to follow Arizona’s lead.”

This is partly a repost of mine from April 2021, but with some important updates:

Of all the problems the ACA has encountered over the 12 years since it was first signed into law by President Obama, one of the most irritating ones had nothing to do with Republican sabotage. The call on this one was made by the IRS (then under the Obama Administration), based on their interpretation of a few bits of language within the legislative text itself back in 2013: The Family Glitch.

As explained by the brilliant Louise Norris:

We still get calls on a regular basis from people who are shopping for individual insurance because adding dependents to their employer plan is prohibitively expensive. We estimate that roughly 20 percent of the people who contact us are in this situation.

via the Health & Human Services Dept:

A new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shows that the Biden Administration's historic vaccination program, which has gotten over 90 percent of seniors fully vaccinated and over 70 percent of seniors a booster shot, is linked to more than 650,000 fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations and more than 300,000 fewer deaths among seniors and other Americans enrolled in Medicare. The study, which was conducted by researchers with HHS's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), underscores the importance of Americans – particularly seniors and others at high-risk of serious outcomes – getting an updated COVID-19 vaccine this fall.