The Health and Human Services Department is expected to deal with top health issues facing the Biden administration in 2024, including abortion rights, drug pricing, and LGBTQI+ discrimination protections. There are several proposed rules awaiting finalization and guidance for implementing a program allowing the government to negotiate Medicare’s payment for high-cost drugs. There are also lawsuits against the HHS as it defends Medicare drug price negotiations.
The HHS is expected to broaden abortion access and better protect LGBTQI+ people from bias in HHS programs. The agency is also moving to change a rule allowing health-care workers to deny care based on religious and moral beliefs. There are also concerns about the Supreme Court potentially undoing FDA decisions on the abortion drug mifepristone.
Other regulations from the HHS awaiting further action in 2024 include proposed changes that would curb disability discrimination in government-funded programs, plans for health-care providers to more easily share patients’ substance use treatment records, and attempts to stop drug misclassification in Medicaid rebates.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are attempting to stop manufacturers from misclassifying brand-name drugs as generics, which can lead to overpayment for medications and escalate Medicaid’s drug costs. In response to a Supreme Court decision, a CMS proposal would broaden access to birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act.