Biden Kicks Off Presidency With Medicaid, Rebate Rule Actions
In a series of steps that were largely expected, the Biden administration in its early days moved to revisit policies approved by the prior administration that it views as weakening Medicaid and Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage. At the same time, the administration delayed the implementation of an HHS final rule to eliminate rebates in Medicare Part D, giving it more time to consider the rule’s full impact and potentially amend or rescind it after a comment period.
“When it comes to health policy, the Biden administration is taking a really hard look at policies in the Medicaid and Medicare space that they view [as] significant and that they want to make sure are in line with their view…[including] looking at the larger rules that impact a space like the rebate rule,” observes Stephanie Kennan, a member of McGuireWoods Consulting’s federal public affairs group and former senior health policy adviser to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).