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Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) released the 2024 Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) database. This database features 3,300 college students, graduate students, and recent graduates with disabilities seeking federal internships and permanent jobs. Federal Government employees can register to access and search this talent pool. WRP candidates are eligible for expedited hiring under the Schedule A Hiring Authority for Persons with Disabilities, which allows agencies to hire without posting a job announcement or going through the certification process.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently shared information on national health expenditures in 2022, highlighting a 4.1% growth in U.S. health care spending to $4.5 trillion. This growth, while faster than the increase of 3.2% in 2021, was notably slower than the substantial increase of 10.6% witnessed in 2020. CMS noted the growth in 2022 reflected strong growth in Medicaid and private health insurance spending that was somewhat offset by continued declines in supplemental funding by the federal government associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact sheet also notes that in 2022, the insured share of the population reached a historic high of 92%...

KFF’s recent issue brief, “Who Uses Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports?,” examines the characteristics of Medicaid enrollees who receive long-term services and supports (LTSS). LTSS can include assistance with activities of daily living (such as eating, bathing, and dressing) and instrumental activities of daily living (such as preparing meals, managing medication, and housekeeping). The issue brief also examines how individuals who use LTSS compare to those who do not use LTSS and how enrollees who use different types of LTSS differ from each other.

On December 14, leading healthcare providers and payers announced voluntary commitments on the safe, secure, and trustworthy use and purchase of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health care. These voluntary commitments build on ongoing work by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the October 30th AI Executive Order, and earlier commitments that the White House received from 15 leading AI companies to develop models responsibly. Twenty-eight businesses signed the commitment, including Boston Children’s Hospital, CVS Health, Emory Healthcare, Geisinger, Houston Methodist, Mass General Brigham, Rush University System for Health, Tufts Medicine, and WellSpan Health....

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently posted a blog highlighting the upcoming changes to Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) programs following the signing of the ABLE Age Adjustment Act in December 2022. These programs serve as financial empowerment tools for Americans living with disabilities, allowing individuals to save money and build financial independence without affecting eligibility for important benefits, like those administered by Social Security. The amendment, effective in 2026, expands ABLE program access to an additional six million Americans, including one million veterans...

On November 30, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) released the first federal homelessness research agenda in more than a decade, aimed at shaping federal investments in homelessness research by offering a roadmap for academic researchers, philanthropy, students, and others committed to understanding what works to prevent and end the crisis of homelessness in the United States. This agenda was developed with significant public input from researchers, people with lived experience of homelessness, national organizations, and experts from federal agencies.

The Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) has released an Informational Bulletin stressing the pivotal role of worker registries in mitigating the nationwide shortage of direct support workers, particularly within Medicaid-covered home and community-based services (HCBS). The bulletin underscores that these registries, serving as a vital link between service recipients and qualified workers, can significantly improve beneficiary access to essential services. Emphasizing the importance of balancing safety concerns with beneficiary choice, CMS encourages states to educate both workers and beneficiaries about the voluntary or mandatory nature of registry participation....

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), recently finalized its “Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Certification Program Updates, Algorithm Transparency, and Information Sharing (HTI-1) rule.” This follows the release of the HTI-1 proposed rule in April 2023....

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released revised guidance detailing key requirements and procedures for calculating rebates and invoicing manufacturers that owe rebates to Medicare under the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program for certain drugs covered under Medicare Part B and Part D. CMS also released the list of 48 prescription drugs for which Part B beneficiary coinsurances may be lower between January 1, 2024 and March 31, 2024. Some people with Medicare who take these drugs may save between $1 and $2,786 per average dose starting January 1, 2024, depending on their individual coverage.

On December 14, the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) issued an Informational Bulletin to advise state Medicaid agencies that starting January 1, 2024, Medicare will begin covering and making payments for marriage and family therapists (MFT) and mental health counselors (MHC), and intensive outpatient program (IOP) services provided to dually eligible beneficiaries, or individuals enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. These provisions were implemented as part of the Calendar Year (CY) 2024 Physician Fee Schedule final rule (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)-1784-F, “Revisions to Payment Policies under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, Quality Payment Program and Other Revisions to Part B for CY 2024”)...