The Biden administration Friday finalized a long-awaited regulation that restores the scope of the Affordable Care Act’s section 1557 on non-discrimination protections and ensures health care programs that get federal funding do not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender identity or pregnancy status, after the rule had been rolled back by the Trump administration. The final rule also ensures that patients with Limited English Proficiency have access to cost-free assistance, clarifies that the rule applies to use of artificial...

FDA’s proposed rule on banning menthol cigarettes will not be finalized in the near future, the White House confirmed Friday (April 26) after months of delays, in a decision likely tied to electoral concerns ahead of the pending 2024 presidential election, despite robust support from FDA leadership for the proposal. Although congressional Republicans and some other stakeholders have said a ban on menthol could shift sales away from legitimate businesses and onto the black market, the decision is facing backlash...

Authorized researchers will have access to data from thousands of adult long COVID patients who participated in the National Institutes of Health's $1.15 billion research initiative via a centralized data access system that agency officials hope will fast-track breakthrough treatments. Yet patient-advocates insist that more funding is crucial to fully leverage this data and advance research efforts. The NIH Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative released observational research data from more than 14,000 adults with long COVID on Thursday...

The Congressional Budget Office highlighted several health-related policies the agency estimates would save hundreds of billions of dollars from 2023-2033 -- like lowering federal pay for Medicaid, reforming Medicare Advantage benchmarks, increasing Medicare Part B premiums and limiting provider taxes -- during Thursday (April 25) presentation at a conservative think tank-sponsored event on entitlement reform. The agency also noted that it still exploring the long-term effects of policies that would expand insurance coverage for anti-obesity medications and the diagnosis and...