Week in Washington 042122

Week in Washington is brought to you by Michael Cohen, PhD. Tune in each week to read the latest on healthcare policy and get a glimpse of what’s on the horizon

Week in Washington

04/21/2022

Judiciary

• A federal judge struck down the mask mandate on public transportation, including airplanes. The Biden Administration is expected to appeal the ruling, although the mask mandate was expected to end in early May.
• There is growing expectation that a federal judge will rule against the ACA’s preventative service requirements.

Congress

• Congress is on recess so there is no news. It’s unclear what legislation will be prioritized when everyone returns.

HHS

• The Public Health Emergency (PHE) was extended another 90 days, effective April 16th. The Biden Administration has given no indication if it would allow the PHE to expire in July or extend it beyond the current July expiration.
• The proposed FY 2023 Hospital Inpatient Proposal Payment System (IPPS) rule was released. The rule would increase operating payment 3.2%, although it’s expected to be higher when the rule is finalized.

Covid

• Covid cases and hospitalizations have begun to rise again, especially in the Northeast, Atlantic, and Northwest regions. The increase is primarily due to a new Omicron subvariant (B.2.12.1), which has a transmission advantage over Covid strains previously in circulation.
• Politico announced that the Biden Administration would unlikely approve a child vaccine before June.

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