“Similar to how corpsmen and medics triage care and stabilize patients who can’t immediately see a doctor, a new initiative would deploy Primary Care Medics under the supervision of licensed physicians to improve primary care in the commonwealth’s rural communities.”

Read more here: Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Significant changes are coming to 340B pricing for five drugs commonly prescribe. Effective July 1, the 340B price for the following drugs will increase from penny-priced (or close to a penny) to:

• Eliquis: $245/package
• Farxiga: $113.83/package of 30
• Jardiance: $120.05/package of 30
• Linzess: $166.38/package of 30
• Synjardy: $120.05/package

These increases are the result of manufacturers reducing the drugs’ sticker price (aka wholesale acquisition cost or WAC) on January 1, 2026. Those price reductions eliminated the inflation-penalty portion of the 340B discount, leaving only the standard discount (23% off brand-name drugs) applied to the lower sticker price. (340B price changes lag 6 months behind WAC changes.)

On July 5, the CMS Innovation Center begins the ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model, a 10-year pilot program designed to expand access to technology-supported care for Traditional Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions.

Visit ACCESS for Primary Care Providers and Referring Clinicians for more information on beneficiary eligibility, billing guidance, and tools to stay informed about patients’ progress.  Contact ACCESSModelTeam@cms.hhs.gov with questions.

In this request for information (RFI), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeks public input to support their comprehensive review of the Essential Health Benefits (EHB) in Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans and the statutory requirement that the scope of EHB be equal to the scope of benefits provided under a typical employer plan.

CMS seeks comments on current interpretations of EHB, State approaches to selecting and updating EHB-benchmark plans, and methodologies used to determine the scope of benefits included as EHB. CMS also seeks comments on variation across States in the scope of benefits included as EHB, cost pressures affecting EHB, limitations in available data used to evaluate EHB, and potential impacts of possible future policy changes. The feedback will help CMS decide whether changes to current regulations should be considered through future rulemaking.

Comment by July 15, 2026.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule with comment period to strengthen federal oversight of Accrediting Organizations (AOs), which are independent organizations approved by CMS to evaluate whether health care providers and suppliers meet Medicare health and safety requirements.

The rule addresses potential conflicts of interest, establishes more consistent accreditation standards and survey processes, and enhances CMS monitoring of AOs. It also finalizes policies restricting certain consulting services provided by AOs, requiring additional surveyor training, strengthening performance and validation requirements, and establishing new safeguards for providers that have been terminated from Medicare and seek to reenter the program.

The rule is effective June 16, 2027, and CMS will accept comments on the information collection and regulatory impact provisions through August 17, 2026.

Comment by August 17, 2026.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule that would codify policies for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program beginning in 2029.

Established by the Inflation Reduction Act, the Drug Price Negotiation Program allows CMS to negotiate maximum fair prices for certain high-cost, single-source prescription drugs and biological products covered by Medicare. This proposed rule would formalize policies previously implemented through guidance, increase transparency in the negotiation process, establish requirements for manufacturers, and address potential loopholes related to certain drug formulations. CMS also proposes revisions and clarifications based on lessons learned from the program’s first years of implementation.

Comment by August 17, 2026.