On December 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ASTP/ONC”) published two proposed rules in the Federal Register:
On March 3, 2025, the Secretary of Health and Human Services published a policy statement in the Federal Register that reverses a policy adopted over 50 years ago that was intended to expand public participation in the process of rulemaking at the Department of Health and Human Services (the “Department”). 90 Fed. Reg. 11029 (2025). This action is at odds with the “radical transparency” that Secretary Kennedy had promised previously, and may affect many programs and financial relationships between individuals, organizations, and others that interact with Health and Human Services (“HHS”).
Regulatory agencies such as HHS and its components, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”), the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), and the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) must follow rulemaking procedures set out in the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) when they formulate and publish regulations that are intended to implement a statute and have the force of law. Those procedures include offering the public an opportunity to be notified of proposed regulations and to submit comments to the agency. The APA also contains several exceptions to the notice and comment requirement, including one for matters relating to “public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts.” Nevertheless, HHS and several other federal departments adopted policies that voluntarily waived these exceptions.
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Recent Updates
- Federal Embryo Adoption Program Raises Potential Legal Questions for Reproductive Health
- Vermont’s H. 583 Restricts Private Equity and Hedge Funds with Ownership and Controlling Interests from Interfering with Clinical Judgment of Health Care Providers
- DOJ’s Second National Health Care Fraud Takedown of the Second Trump Administration Heavily Targets Medicaid Fraud
- FDA Regulations to Establish Minimum CGMP Requirements for Manufacturing, Packaging, Labeling, and Holding of Dietary Supplements
- OIG Advisory Opinion 26-14 Offers Another Favorable Path for Patient Access Through Sponsored Testing