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The Biden administration on Thursday asked employers to give workers who lose Medicaid coverage more time to sign up for health insurance through their jobs. Medicaid is the state- and federally funded program that covers health care costs for people with low incomes. States have resumed checks for Medicaid eligibility this year after pausing the practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Murphy, 7/20)

The Biden administration’s investigation into medical credit cards has drawn praise from consumer groups, but they want it to move quickly — and more broadly — to address the issue of medical debt. About 20 percent of Americans have medical debt, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The issue has garnered increased attention as health care costs continue to rise, providers get criticized for questionable billing practices and insurers get blamed for denying coverage and raising copays and deductibles. (Hellmann, 7/20)

When Dr. Mandy Cohen walked into the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta less than two weeks ago, she knew trust in America's top health agency was broken. Attacks on the agency's scientific data and sometimes confusing public policy guidance were coming from Washington lawmakers, social media and people across the country. (Edwards and Weaver, 7/21)

EPA is facing pressure to beef up its response plan around lead contamination in drinking water. Through an audit released Thursday, the agency's Office of Inspector General asserted that regulators need a stronger system in place so that the public can be made aware of lead risks in their water. Without public notices, the watchdog warned, people may be exposed to the neurotoxic heavy metal, with serious health implications. (Crunden, 7/20)

More than two years after federal hospital price transparency rules went into effect, only about a third of hospitals are currently in compliance, according to a report released this week. The nonprofit Patient Rights Advocate (PRA) released its fifth semi-annual report, which found that only 36 percent of 2,000 surveyed hospitals were in complete compliance with the rule. (Choi, 7/20)

FTC and HHS’ Office for Civil Rights flagged providers’ possible usage of Meta/Facebook and Google Analytics tracking technologies in the letter. The agencies said using such technologies could be a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 or the FTC Health Breach Notification Rule. They warned organizations to exercise extreme caution in using these technologies and ensure the tools are not disclosing personal health information in an unauthorized fashion. (Perna, 7/20)

Rising medical costs and changes in federal policies are increasingly driving employers, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers to fight over access to workers’ claims data. Carriers are pitching self-funded employers the largest rate increase since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to account for rising provider expenses and increased member utilization, said Michael Thompson, CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, a nonprofit group of private- and public-sector employers and unions focused on healthcare purchasing. (Tepper, 7/20)