HHS Agencies Begin Layoffs Affecting Thousands Of Probationary Staff, Unions Vow Legal Action

Unions representing federal government workers vowed legal action over major cuts to probationary staff across the government Friday (Feb. 13), including at HHS subagencies, though it’s still unclear precisely how many staff are affected at each subagency. The layoffs are expected to impact about 5,200 probationary employees across HHS, a source told Inside Health Policy , but it’s so far unclear how those cuts will be distributed across the department. Staff cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
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CDC: Previously Undetected HPAI Cases Likely Show Asymptomatic Spread

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Thursday (Feb. 13) a multi-state survey of veterinarians in the United States found three participants -- about 2% of the sample -- showed evidence of recent infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI or H5N1), including two who reported no known contact with animals who had the virus. The report comes as public health advocates raise concerns the U.S. response to HPAI could...
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TX, LA Telehealth Abortion Cases Barrel Toward Shield Law Challenges

Two cases in Texas and Louisiana targeting the same New York doctor for prescribing abortion medication via telemedicine have edged closer to transforming into the first legal challenges to shield laws, which can offer legal protections to telehealth providers caring for patients in states where the procedure is illegal. Experts say that the forthcoming legal challenges to New York’s shield law will ultimately be resolved by the Supreme Court, which could have significant ramifications for both abortion and telehealth access...
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GOP Advances Budget Resolution Framing Likely Medicaid Cuts As ‘Anti-Fraud,’ Rejects Scores Of Dem Amendments

The House Budget Committee advanced its contentious budget blueprint along party lines late Thursday (Feb. 13) after a 12-hour marathon markup, with Republicans rejecting Democrats’ barrage of amendments aimed at shielding Medicaid from deep budget cuts widely believed to be inevitable under the resolution’s large deficit reduction target -- and instead framing those likely reforms as necessary to stem fraud, waste and abuse. The House Republican budget resolution, unveiled Wednesday (Feb. 12) , advanced through the budget committee in a...
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Judge Orders Funding Restored; USAID Cut Health Funding Through WHO, Johns Hopkins

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore funding for federal foreign aid contracts, after a court filing revealed the administration has cut contracts for global health expenses despite multiple judges’ orders to pause its federal funding freeze. The fallout for global health comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to grapple with the fallout of the United States, its largest funder, withdrawing from membership. In a court case challenging the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for...
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Trump Expands Bid To Slash Agencies, Biologics Firms Warn Cuts Would Devastate FDA

The White House on Thursday (Feb. 13) expanded its effort to reduce the federal workforce, directing agencies to fire so-called probationary employees hired over the past two years, coming as biologics advocates have been warning in an open letter that major staffing cuts at FDA would be devastating to the agency’s ability to review cutting-edge medical products. A group of stakeholders led by small biopharma companies recently signed onto an open letter to the Trump administration urging it to spare...
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New Kennedy-Led MAHA Commission To Study Medication ‘Threats’ As Part Of Chronic Disease Focus

Moments after being sworn in as HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was tapped by President Donald Trump to lead a new Make America Healthy Again Commission, tasked with tackling chronic disease through holistic approaches and addressing the potential overuse of medicine. An executive order creating the commission and laying out the MAHA agenda signaled a focus on areas that are likely to prove controversial with both health care advocates and industry, prioritizing Kennedy’s approach of addressing disease through lifestyle...
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Telehealth Waivers Extension Faces Complicated, Unclear Path Forward

Lawmakers are still weighing the best vehicle to advance bipartisan legislation extending Medicare telehealth waivers set to expire on March 31, which could be included in government funding legislation and/or a budget reconciliation bill. But both likely legislative options raise unique challenges, industry lobbyists told Inside Health Policy . GOP lawmakers are considering extending telehealth flexibilities in a partisan reconciliation bill, according to an internal House Budget Committee document obtained by IHP . But moving telehealth flexibilities, which some suggest...
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Judge Issues TRO Pausing Trump’s Gender-Affirming Care Funding Ban

The federal judge in Maryland has ordered an emergency temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Trump administration’s directive to withhold all federal funding from hospitals and other entities that provide gender-affirming care to patients under 19, the latest court to put a pause on one of the administration’s policy agenda priorities. Baltimore Judge Brendan Abell Hurson issued the ruling from the bench in a hearing Thursday (Feb. 13) and will follow up with a written order, according to a Politico...
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Stakeholders Urge Lawmakers To Include Permanent HDHP Telehealth In Reconciliation

Digital health stakeholders are lobbing lawmakers to include permanent coverage of telehealth under high deductible health plans linked to health saving accounts in the reconciliation budget due to the program’s categorization as a tax cut. Patients who are unaware of the lapsed HDHP coverage and continue to use telehealth will likely face tax penalties without a legislative fix, underscoring the importance of a timely extension, according to an industry lobbyist. The two-year extension of HDHP coverage was scored by the...
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