Bloomberg Law by Fawn Johnson 1/22/2021
• HHS put out rules until Trump’s final full day
• Here are more than 20 actions now on hold
From insulin to life-saving medical devices to last-ditch efforts to protect premature infants (including those from “live birth†abortions), multiple rules posted by the Health and Human Services Department in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency are subject to a 60-day pause.
The halt on Trump-era rulemaking includes two controversial rules designed to curb high drug prices—one that changes the way pharmacy liaisons and drugmakers can pay each other and another that ties Medicare rates for expensive drugs to the prices paid in other countries.
A Wednesday memo circulated by White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain said all rules, guidances, or other agency actions that didn’t take effect prior to noon that day—the official handover time from Trump to President Joe Biden—will be subject to review by the new administration before they can take effect. If the previous administration’s actions raise questions of “fact, law, or policy,†the designated officials now leading the agencies can further delay effective dates and consult with the Office of Management and Budget about other actions. The agencies can also open comment periods on those actions.
If there are no such questions, no further action is needed. The rule, proposal, or guidance can be considered active and effective, the memo said.
A regulatory pause is a common tradition among incoming presidents to ensure that the unfinished policies from the prior administration align with the new one. In many cases, there are no substantial disagreements among the two administrations and the policies can continue on their normal path. But the pause gives incoming officials a chance to weed out the actions that go against the current president’s stance.
The HHS issued a slew of rules and other announcements in the weeks leading up to Biden’s inauguration, including a substantial change to a Medicare payment model for expensive prescription drugs as late as Jan. 19.
Here are the health-related actions by HHS and other agencies affected by the pause.
More:
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/last-minute-flurry-of-health-rules-subject-to-biden-60-day-pause
