HHS opened a comment period on whether vaccines should still be routinely recommended, CMS put its RAPID device coverage pathway out for comment and paused TCET for new candidates, and No Surprises Act arbitration passed $22 billion in cost.
Trump narrowed the childhood vaccine schedule and ordered an MMR split, the Fifth Circuit voided the No Surprises payment benchmark, and new data showed insurers denying up to 18% of prior authorization requests.
CMS published its RAPID device coverage notice against a payment rule that already closed a different door, joint replacement bundles go mandatory nationwide, and the ACA marketplace enters 2027 renewal sicker, pricier and in court.
Two agencies moved on 340B in the same week, CMS ended the subsidy holding Medicare drug premiums down, and FDA loaded its fiscal 2027 device fee increase entirely onto establishment registration.
The administration told a court how it cancelled research grants and told the country what it wants funded instead, while CMS moved to squeeze the provider taxes that finance Medicaid.
The week belonged to CMS: the CY2027 Physician Fee Schedule lands with a pay cut, an ACO overhaul, and a surprise remote-monitoring vendor ban, while the Medicaid work-requirement fight moves to court and the Senate grills Trump’s CDC and ASPR nominees over vaccines.
A light news week defined by new HHS activity under RFK Jr., fresh Medicare ACO data, and a Senate rattled by the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Mitch McConnell’s month-long absence.
This week: CMS’s draft 2027 outpatient rule takes aim at 340B and site-neutral pay, Medicare’s GLP-1 coverage era begins, and the Medicaid work-requirement fight lands in court.
This week: CMS released a sweeping Medicaid work requirements rule that blindsided states, patient advocates, and health systems—reshaping a coverage landscape already under strain from record-low children’s enrollment.
This week: the No Surprises Act arbitration overhaul, a $775 billion Medicaid state-directed payments proposed rule, and a full cycle of TAVR clinical evidence.
Savage Health Policy
csavage@shpconsulting.llc
(276) 221-8300
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