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Court Overturns Accumulator Adjuster Rule

Capitol rooftoop

Court orders HHS to revise federal regulations permitting harmful copay accumulators  In a preliminary victory for consumers, a federal judge in the District of Columbia set aside federal regulations that disadvantage people who rely on copay assistance to afford their medications. The ruling is welcome news for patient groups that have long opposed so-called “copay […]

FDA Proposes Blood Donation Changes

red blood cells

On Friday, January 27, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced proposed changes to national blood and plasma donation policies. The draft FDA guidance, if finalized, would eliminate time-based donation deferrals for men who have sex with men. Instead, revised donor history questionnaires would ask all donors (regardless of gender) to answer individual risk-based […]

Washington Wire: September 2022

facade of building

HFA Fly-In and Week of Advocacy HFA was excited to return to in-person meetings for its ninth annual Patient Fly-In this year, after two years of virtual events. Twenty community members from 10 different states came to Washington, D.C. for policy and advocacy briefings, followed by meetings on Capitol Hill with 35 Congressional offices. Advocates […]

Washington Wire: August 2022

On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The massive bill took a long and torturous path through Congress before finally passing on a party-line vote. It includes significant health care provisions, along with climate, energy, and tax initiatives. One part of the IRA, in particular, answers a key […]

Washington Wire: July 2022

One key provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires most health insurance plans to cover – without cost-sharing – services that help screen for and prevent disease. Annual primary care visits, immunizations, cancer screenings, and improved access to birth control are just a few of the categories of preventive services that are available without […]

Washington Wire: May 2022

Capitol rooftoop

Federal courts tackle questions surrounding copay accumulator adjusters While HFA and allies continue advocating for sound laws and regulations regarding copay assistance, we are also monitoring a couple of noteworthy (if weedy!) court cases relating to copay accumulator adjusters (CAAPs) and copay maximizers. On May 4, drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson filed suit in federal […]

Washington Wire: April 2022

The so-called “family glitch” is one of the persistent deficiencies in the Affordable Care Act. Under the ACA, people with access to employer-sponsored health coverage only qualify for subsidies to help them buy Marketplace health insurance if premiums for their employer plan are unaffordable (i.e., above 9.83% of household income). Affordability, however, is measured against […]

Washington Wire: March 2022

Government health agencies, while continuing to monitor COVID-19 trends, have begun planning for the end of the public health emergency. As previously reported, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has for two years kept in place an official determination that COVID-19 constitutes a national public health emergency. While the PHE declaration remains in […]

Washington Wire: February 2022

Court strikes down portions of surprise medical billing rule, but patient protections remain in effect. Last month HFA reported on new federal patient protections against “surprise” medical billing that went into effect on January 1, 2022. Under the new law and regulations, health care providers can no longer bill patients for amounts above their regular […]

Washington Wire: January 2022

Readers of the Washington Wire will have noticed that HFA publishes a lot of posts about “copay accumulator adjuster programs” (CAAPs). This is a weedy but important topic! CAAPs are a strategy used by insurers to redirect the value of manufacturer copay assistance – which is supposed to help patients afford their share of their […]

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