The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has custody of over 2000 children who were separated from their parents after crossing the border illegally since May. The president issued an Executive Order on June 20 to end the...

As reported in last week’s Update, the White House has revealed a plan to reorganize and merge several departments of the federal government. See the White House Fact Sheet. Not mentioned last week: part of this reorganization plan would be to reduce the Public Health...

On June 27 the House voted on immigration legislation that would have provided funding for a border wall, addressed the separation of immigrant families, and provided a path to citizenship for the so-called DREAMers (young adults who were brought to the country...

On June 21, the House approved the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment or for Patients and Communities Act – or SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (H.R. 6) – which consolidated multiple previously passed bills. See...

On June 26, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) approved two bills intended to improve maternal and child health. The Maternal Health Accountability Act (S. 1112) would establish a new grant program administered by CDC to provide...

Update: The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education approved its version of the bill to fund those agencies in FY 2019, and the full committee approved the bill the next day. (See the committee report.) As reported in last week’s Update, the...

On June 27, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) released guidance to states through State Release #185, titled State Medicaid Coverage of Drugs Approved by the FDA under Accelerated Approval Pathway. The...

On June 26, CMS announced ways that it would seek to strengthen program integrity. See CMS Launches Slate of Initiatives Aimed at Curbing Fraud, Waste in Medicaid (FierceHealthcare, 6/26/18).

As announced on June 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an Informational Bulletin on ensuring the health and welfare of individuals receiving Medicaid-funded Home and Community Based Services (HCBS). The Centers for Medicaid & CHIP...

The Massachusetts Medicaid program asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to waive several different requirements of Medicaid law pursuant to the federal government’s waiver authority granted in section 1115 of the Social Security Act. Among the...