An analysis from the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations says CMS’ changes to the threshold for differentiating high-revenue and low-revenue ACOs is estimated to keep more physician-affiliated ACOs and those affiliated with Federally Qualified Health Centers from having to take on risk at a faster rate under the new Medicare Shared Savings program rules, but NAACOS says concerns remain that the system could keep ACOs from integrating specialty care.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the month-old partial government shutdown “represents one of the most significant operational challenges in FDA’s recent history,” and he warned that more staff will be furloughed as the agency’s drug center runs out of Prescription Drug User Fee Amendment (PDUFA) funding.

Food safety advocates say that the month-long partial government shutdown could have long-term negative effects on the morale of FDA’s food inspection staff, as well as FDA’s ability to retain and hire personnel, who might be turned off by the prospect of being furloughed.

Arizona is the eighth state to receive permission from the Trump administration to add work requirements to its Medicaid program, and after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations between state officials and CMS lawyers, CMS allowed the state to exempt some Native Americans from the requirements.