The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a new mandatory payment model aimed at lowering prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries, a move that underscores both the urgency and complexity of reforming drug pricing in the United States. Dubbed the Guarding U.S. Medicare Against Rising Drug Costs (GUARD) Model, the initiative introduces international price benchmarking and modified rebate structures to rein in spending under Medicare Part D. But while the model reflects an aggressive policy posture, it also raises significant implementation and equity questions as it moves toward a 2027 launch.

The criminal convictions of three former executives at Magellan Diagnostics mark more than the end of a federal case. They spotlight a fundamental breakdown in how health IT tools are regulated, trusted, and used to guide clinical decisions. From 2013 to 2017, Magellan’s LeadCare II device accounted for the majority of pediatric lead screenings in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released its first unified artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, positioning AI as a transformative tool for internal operations, public health research, and care modernization. Framed as a “OneHHS” approach, the strategy invites coordination across all departmental divisions, including CDC, CMS, FDA, and NIH.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), in coordination with the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP), announced temporary enforcement discretion for certain compliance and attestation deadlines within the ONC Health IT Certification Program. While positioned as a procedural adjustment due to a lapse in federal appropriations, the decision reveals a deeper structural concern: the fragility of public-sector infrastructure that underpins regulatory accountability in health IT.