With Key Lawmakers On Board, Senate Poised To Block Nursing Home Staffing Rule

Axios: Senate May Have The Votes To Scrap Biden's Nursing Home Staffing Mandate
A resolution aimed at overturning President Biden's controversial nursing home staffing minimums has a chance of passing the Senate. The vote would show the resistance to the first-of-its-kind standard and reveal a rift among Democrats, even though Biden would almost certainly veto the measure. (Knight and Sullivan, 6/11)

Reuters: Supreme Court Will Hear Case Claiming US Underpays Hospitals Serving Needy Patients
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a lawsuit by more than 200 hospitals that serve low-income populations accusing the federal government of shortchanging them on Medicare funding by about $1.5 billion per year. The hospitals, located in 32 states, are asking, opens new tab the court to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upholding the current method of determining funding used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). (Pierson, 6/10)

Modern Healthcare: Supreme Court To Review Medicare DSH Payments
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it will review a lower-court’s decision that limits Medicare payments for hospitals that treat a disproportionate number of low-income patients. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with the Health and Human Services Department in September. A group of 213 hospitals that filed the initial case in 2017 petitioned the Supreme Court in December to review that decision. (Kacik, 6/10)

Modern Healthcare: Elevance Medicare Advantage Star Ratings Lawsuit Sees Some Wins
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must recalculate Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia’s Medicare Advantage star ratings, a federal court ruled Friday. Parent company Elevance Health sued over its scores in December, alleging CMS did not follow proper procedures when it modified how it assesses quality and distributes bonus payments to the highest-performing Medicare Advantage plans. SCAN Health Plan won a similar case before the same court last week. (Tepper, 6/10)

The New York Times: Chemical Makers Sue Over Rule To Rid Water Of ‘Forever Chemicals’
Chemical and manufacturing groups sued the federal government late Monday over a landmark drinking-water standard that would require cleanup of so-called forever chemicals linked to cancer and other health risks. The industry groups said that the government was exceeding its authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring that municipal water systems all but remove six synthetic chemicals, known by the acronym PFAS, that are present in the tap water of hundreds of millions of Americans. (Tabuchi, 6/10)

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Reuters: Amneal, US FTC Win Order Removing Teva Inhaler Patents From FDA List 
Drugmaker Amneal Pharmaceuticals (AMRX.O), opens new tab with the backing of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission convinced a New Jersey federal court on Monday to remove five Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA.TA) patents from a U.S. Food and Drug Administration list of patents covering Teva's breathing drug ProAir HFA. U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler agreed with Amneal and the FTC that Teva's patents only covered inhaler device technology, ordering it to remove the listings from the FDA's Orange Book and clearing an obstacle for Amneal's proposed generic. (Brittain, 6/10)

Modern Healthcare: Google, Microsoft To Offer Cybersecurity Help To Rural Hospitals
The White House is teaming with Microsoft and Google in a bid to help hospitals strengthen their cybersecurity in the face of escalating hacks. The tech firms have agreed to offer some hospitals free or discounted services, with a focus on rural facilities, the White House said Monday. (McAuliff, 6/10)

Stateline: Proposed Bill Would Make Air Travel Easier For New Parents Packing Breast Milk And Formula
As the summer travel season approaches, new parents may be navigating airports with their babies — and the complexities of keeping them fed. Despite federal guidelines for airport agents laying out how to treat nursing moms, stories about problem encounters with security sometimes go viral. (Brown, 6/10)

The Hill: Trump To Christian Advocacy Group: 'You're Going To Make A Comeback' If I Win
Former President Trump on Monday virtually addressed a conservative Christian advocacy group that supports the end of abortion, telling the organization’s members if he’s reelected they would “make a comeback like just about no other group.” ... He made no mention of abortion in his remarks to the group, though he vowed to defend “innocent life” if reelected. (Samuels, 6/10)

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KFF Health News: Biden Plan To Save Medicare Patients Money On Drugs Risks Empty Shelves, Pharmacists Say
Months into a new Biden administration policy intended to lower drug costs for Medicare patients, independent pharmacists say they’re struggling to afford to keep some prescription drugs in stock.This story also ran on Fortune. It can be republished for free.“It would not matter if the governor himself walked in and said, ‘I need to get this prescription filled,’” said Clint Hopkins, a pharmacist and co-owner of Pucci’s Pharmacy in Sacramento, California. “If I’m losing money on it, it’s a no.” (Jaffe, 6/11)