Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CMS Freezes Medicare Home Health, Hospice Provider Sign-Ups For 6 Months
Modern Healthcare: CMS Pauses Home Health, Hospice Provider Enrollment Into Medicare
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Wednesday temporarily paused new home health and hospice enrollment into Medicare. The agency issued a six-month freeze on new provider enrollments as part of its latest effort to crack down on fraud in the healthcare system. CMS will increase investigations and accelerate the removal of hospice and home health providers suspected of fraudulent activity while the moratoria are ongoing, along with employing new data analytics to scrutinize the sector, CMS said in a news release. (Early, 5/13)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Touts New Electronic Prior Authorization Plan Ahead Of 2027
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a new effort to improve electronic prior authorization uptake. The initiative announced Wednesday is meant to help work through challenges impeding the healthcare industry from broadly implementing electronic prior authorization. The government also intends the initiative to improve readiness for January 2027 data exchange deadlines included in a 2024 prior authorization and interoperability rule. (Early, 5/13)
Politico: White House Cuts $1.3 Billion In Medicaid Payments To California
The Trump administration is withholding $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements to California for failing to combat fraud, escalating a feud with the state over its management of hospice care. “The state of California has not taken fraud very seriously,” said Vice President JD Vance during a press conference Wednesday at the White House. Though the administration has repeatedly criticized California’s fraud oversight, this is the first time the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has targeted payments to the state. In recent months it has withheld more than $300 million in Medicaid reimbursements to Minnesota for suspect claims. (King, 5/13)
KFF Health News: Trump Demands Medicaid Data For Deportation. Some States Go A Step Further
Several states have joined President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts and are taking federal reporting requirements to immigration authorities a step further — by using their public health agencies as arms of enforcement. North Carolina, in late April, became the latest member of a growing group of Republican-led states to require their public health agencies to flag recipients of Medicaid to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security if their legal status is in question. (Jones, 5/14)
Agency staffing —
AP: Makary's Resignation From FDA Widens A Leadership Gap At HHS
When the week began, several senior positions at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were already sitting empty. There was no Senate-confirmed U.S. surgeon general. The head of the National Institutes of Health was doubling as the acting head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Food and Drug Administration lacked a permanent vaccine chief after that official was ousted for a second time in a year.Then on Tuesday Dr. Marty Makary resigned as head of the FDA, leaving another major health agency with only an acting commissioner. Makary’s departure widens a leadership gap that has plagued HHS throughout Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure. (Swenson, Perrone and Stobbe, 5/13)
Stat: Search For New FDA Chief Mired In Same Issues That Drove Makary Out
The Trump administration is moving quickly to identify the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration after the resignation of Marty Makary on Tuesday, with an eye for someone who can rebuild trust with agency staff, focus on the agency’s food policy, and continue to drive drug-approval reforms. (Payne and Lawrence, 5/13)
The New York Times: Rich Danker, RFK Jr.’s Top Spokesman, Resigns In Protest Over New Vaping Policy
The chief spokesman for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. resigned on Wednesday in protest over the administration’s push to allow major tobacco companies to begin selling flavored vapes that appeal to children. His departure came one day after the head of the Food and Drug Administration quit for the same reason. In a letter to Mr. Trump, obtained by The New York Times, the spokesman, Rich Danker, did not blame the president, whom he said had “twice restored our prosperity and national security against all odds.” But he warned that authorizing flavored e-cigarettes would draw more children into vaping and increase their risk for a number of health issues, from addiction to cancer. (Gay Stolberg, 5/13)
Veterans' health and vaccine strategy —
Newsweek: VA Reveals ‘Historic’ Investment For Veterans’ Health Care Nationwide
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced what it’s calling an “historic” investment in healthcare infrastructure, approving $596 million in upgrades during the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. The funding is part of a much larger $4.8 billion modernization plan—the biggest annual facilities investment in the department’s history. (Greenwood, 5/13)
Politico: RFK Jr.’s Looming Vaccine Decisions To Test White House Midterm Strategy
The White House has commanded Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to put aside his vaccine-skeptical views and prioritize food policy wins as he tours the country ahead of the midterms. But deadlines for high-stakes decisions between now and November will reveal more about whether the Trump administration’s rhetorical shift is real or just an election-year expedient. Over the next few months, Kennedy will have to decide whether to recommend new vaccines for flu and Covid-19, sign off on a new Moderna shot that uses mRNA technology — which Kennedy believes is dangerous — and release funding to developing countries for vaccines that he has deemed unsafe. (Gardner and Haslett, 5/13)
Also —
The New York Times: With A Friend In Trump, The Tobacco Industry Secures A Lucrative Win
Over lunch at his golf club in Jupiter, Fla., on the first Saturday of May, President Trump got an earful from a group of tobacco executives and lobbyists unhappy with the way the Food and Drug Administration was regulating their industry. Eventually Mr. Trump had heard enough. He interrupted the conversation to call Dr. Marty Makary, the F.D.A. commissioner. No answer. Furious, the president then dialed Dr. Makary’s boss, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and another top health official, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Jewett and Vogel, 5/13)
The 19th: Why Is RFK Jr. So Worried About Sperm Count?
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has, historically, been very public about his concerns about what is plaguing the nation’s well-being. His long, complicated history with vaccines is well-documented. So is his long-standing spat with fluoride. Unlike President Donald Trump, he is not a fan of fast food, but he is a big believer in animal protein and raw milk. And this week, he spoke about another issue vexing him: men’s sperm count. (Padilla and Gerson, 5/13)
The Hill: Donald Trump Shares Misquoted Post On Truth Social Involving Sen. John Kennedy, Barack Obama
President Trump on Monday shared a quote falsely attributed to Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), in which he accused former President Obama of earning $120 million from a healthcare scheme. ... When asked about the post, Kennedy told NOTUS, “Somebody told me there was something floating around on the internet about me accusing President Obama of stealing $120 million or something.” He added, “I didn’t say that. I don’t know the basis of it.” (Fields, 5/13)
