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In a little-noticed move, the Biden administration has hit the pause button on a rule that would prevent the federal government from using a controversial legal provision for combating the high prices of products developed with taxpayer dollars. The move amounts to an about-face after the White House left the rule, which was proposed earlier this year by the Trump administration, on its regulatory agenda last month. However, the latest decision suggests the Biden administration is responding to pressure to widen access to medicines and vaccines, especially those funded in part by the U.S. treasury, in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Silverman, 7/12)

Hospital groups pushed back against President Joe Biden's latest executive order that targets hospital consolidation. The order, signed July 9, asked the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to review and revise their guidelines on hospital mergers to limit harm to patients. "Thanks to unchecked mergers, the ten largest healthcare systems now control a quarter of the market," the executive order said, pointing to the closure of rural hospitals as particularly concerning. (Haefner, 7/12)

The United States faces a monumental task in keeping its focus on the long-term challenge posed by China’s quest for technology leadership. (Ratnam, 7/12)