KEY ISSUES

Many states are gearing up for the May 11 end of the Public Health Emergency designation that provided automatic health insurance, services, and access for millions of Americans and in President Biden's FY2024 budget request, he proposed $130 million for long Covid programs to help rural communities, low-income Americans with HIV, and others who will be impacted the most on May 11. An estimated 10-35 million working-age adults are suffering from this condition.

Also, the Senate HELP Committee just reached their deadline for public comments on what to include in the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) as they begin to draft the reauthorization bill Congress aims to pass this year. Meanwhile, in the courts, the recent Texas ruling against abortion pill Mifepristone may impact the FDA-approval process for pharmaceutical drugs, establishing new precedent for judges to overrule this federal agency. However this was contradicted minutes later by Washington ruling that affirmed the FDA's approval of mifepristone and blocked the US from restricting access. The competing orders just minutes apart signal this will likely be decided by the Supreme Court.

Finally, within federal departments, the Health and Human Services Department's Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will now consider the patient experience as one of several factors as it prepares to negotiate drug prices and evaluate a drug’s clinical benefit compared with therapeutic alternatives. The agency also said it will consider patient-reported outcomes as part of its analysis.