HHS Scrubs Public Comment On Health Rules, Rolling Back Transparency

Modern Healthcare: HHS To End Public Comment Requirements For Grants, Contracts 
The Health and Human Services Department is abandoning a Nixon-era practice that offered transparency into federal policymaking in a move that limits the public and the healthcare sector's ability to influence government actions. Instead, HHS intends to comply with the bare-minimum requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act of 1946, or APA, and only engage in the traditional notice-and-comment process as expressly dictated by that law, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote in a policy statement published Friday. HHS had followed the now-defunct guidelines for 54 years. (Early, 2/28)

Axios: RFK Jr. Move To Kill Public Comment Roils Providers
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s move to reduce public comments on certain federal health rules injects new uncertainty into the regulatory landscape and could help him make controversial policy decisions unchecked. The wonky policy statement he issued on Friday has a direct bearing on the dispute over the National Institutes of Health's research funding cap and could make it easier to impose Medicaid work rules. (Goldman, 3/3)

More news about the Trump administration —

NPR: Dr. Francis Collins, Legendary Former NIH Director, Retires
Dr. Francis Collins, the legendary former director of the National Institutes of Health, has retired, NPR has learned. Collins, who notified the NIH on Friday of his decision, did not specify the reasons for his departure. Collins joined NIH in 1993 and led the agency under presidents of both parties from 2009 through 2021. He then stepped down as NIH director, but continued his research in his lab at the agency. (Stein, 3/1)

The Hill: Defense Health Agency Head Forced To Abruptly Retire: Report
The head of the Defense Health Agency (DHA), the health system for millions of service members and their dependents, was forced to abruptly retire Friday, Reuters reported. Army Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, one of the most senior Black female officers in the Army who has served in her role since January 2023, “is beginning her retirement” as of Friday morning, according to a statement from Stephen Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. (Mitchell, 2/28)

The Washington Post: Senior USAID Official Ousted As He Details Problems Providing Lifesaving Aid 
A senior career official at the U.S. Agency for International Development was placed on leave Sunday on the same day he disseminated a detailed memo to staff describing the U.S. government’s “failure” to provide lifesaving assistance around the world because of actions by President Donald Trump’s political appointees. The memo, by Nicholas Enrich, the acting assistant administrator for global health, contradicts claims by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that a functioning system is in place for exempting lifesaving assistance from the aid freeze imposed by Trump on his first week in office. (Hudson, 3/3)

CBS News: USAID Freeze Hits American Manufacturer Of Product That Saves Babies' Lives
When Navyn Salem received a letter Wednesday terminating the federal government's contract with her Rhode Island company, Edesia, she halted its production line, which makes a life-saving paste for severely malnourished babies. A day later she received an email, just a few short sentences, rescinding the contract's termination. The reversal failed to put her mind at ease. (Kates and Ruetenik, 3/2)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’: Journalists Discuss A Mysterious, Deadly Illness In Congo And Early Moves By Secretary RFK
KFF Health News editor-at-large for public health Céline Gounder discussed a mysterious illness in Congo that has claimed dozens of lives on CBS’ “CBS Mornings” on Feb. 26. ... KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed moves by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show” on Feb. 25. (3/1)