�������ýҕ�l

Medical device makers may soon have an easier path to securing health insurance reimbursement for their products, following the notice Thursday of a long-awaited rule by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Lawrence, 6/22)

Congress is taking early steps towards changing the way Medicare pays physicians. At a hearing Thursday, lawmakers in both parties talked about overhauling a 2015 law that aimed to shift physicians toward so-called value based payment models, rather than the traditional fee-for-service system. (Trang, 6/22)

Congress is reviewing legislation to expand site-neutral payment policies, setting up a battle between hospital lobbying groups and policymakers if lawmakers remove the payment premium for some services provided at hospital outpatient departments. (Kacik, 6/22)

A new UCSF study has found that the number of emergency departments in California fell between 2011 and 2021 while the number of ER visits grew, suggesting that hospitals’ capacity to provide emergency care cannot keep up with demand. (Ho, 6/22)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: What’s It Really Like To Be HHS Secretary? Three Who’ve Done It Spill The Beans 

As the nation’s top health official and leader of one of the federal government’s largest departments, the secretary of Health and Human Services makes life-or-death decisions every day that affect millions of Americans. But not all important work is serious. One former HHS secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, recalled a highlight of her tenure: recording a public service message with “Sesame Street.” “The Elmo commercial was to teach kids how to sneeze,” she said. “We were trying to spread good health habits.” (Rovner and Huetteman, 6/22)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: �������ýҕ�l Health News' 'What the Health?': Live From Aspen: Three HHS Secretaries On What The Job Is Really Like 

In this special episode of �������ýҕ�l Health News’ “What the Health?” host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner leads a rare conversation with the current and two former secretaries of Health and Human Services. Taped before a live audience at Aspen Ideas: Health, part of the Aspen Ideas Festival, in Aspen, Colorado, Secretary Xavier Becerra and two of his predecessors, Kathleen Sebelius and Alex Azar, talk candidly about what it takes to run a department with more than 80,000 employees and a budget larger than those of many countries. (6/22)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: Advocates Call For 911 Changes. Police Have Mixed Feelings. 

A mountain of evidence shows police often fail to respond properly to people experiencing a mental health crisis. It can lead to avoidable deaths and criminalization of mental illness, especially among people of color. A poll commissioned by Public Health Advocates, a Davis-based health policy nonprofit, showed that more than two-thirds of California voters want behavioral health professionals to be part of the emergency response in non-life-threatening situations. Among seven types of situations potentially warranting emergency response, voters think law enforcement agencies are least equipped to respond to calls about mental health crises and people who are unhoused, according to the May 24 poll. (Castle Work, 6/23)