Employers might not be able to offer telehealth services to workers with HDHP-HSAs pre-deductible as of Jan. 1, after the House failed to include an extension of the policy in its newly passed provider relief measure, now pending in the Senate, despite a flurry of lobbying and last-minute consideration by lawmakers, sources say.

Vice President Kamala Harris issued a call-to-action Tuesday (Dec. 6) to address the country’s high maternal mortality rate while CMS announced plans to create a “Birthing-Friendly” hospital quality designation and HHS said an estimated 720,000 Americans would gain coverage if every state would extend Medicaid postpartum coverage to one year.

The White House is reviewing an FDA draft guidance that will address development of non-opioid drugs for acute pain, coming as lawmakers and public health experts push for more non-opioid, non-addictive pain medicines to help curb opioid addiction.

The Biden administration should immediately prevent half of the $21.60 a month increase in Medicare Part B premiums from going into effect next year, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said in a letter to President Joe Biden Friday (Dec. 3), targeting the contingency reserve CMS created to pay for the controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm.