340B Victory and Medicare Fraud Crackdown: What's Next for Hospitals and Patients

Welcome to your weekly HHS update, listeners. This week’s top headline: A D.C. District Court struck down HRSA’s child site registration rule for the 340B Drug Discount Program, freeing over 40 hospitals nationwide to provide discounted drugs at off-campus sites without extra red tape, as ruled on March 3 in Albany Med Health System v. HRSA. Shifting to enforcement, the Trump Administration ramped up its crackdown on Medicare and Medicaid fraud, deferring $259.5 million in Minnesota funding, imposing a six-month moratorium on new DMEPOS supplier enrollments after stopping $1.5 billion in suspicious billing last year, and launching the CRUSH initiative with a stakeholder RFI due March 30. CMS reports this protects patients and taxpayers directly. In proposals, CMS’s 2026 Benefit and Payment Parameters rule tweaks Marketplace user fees, risk adjustment models—including adding HIV PrEP factors and phasing out Hepatitis C adjustments—and Basic Health Program payments for fairer state funding. HRSA also updated Ryan White HIV/AIDS funding to better match where patients live, awarded $5 million to 26 rural teaching health centers, and HHS partnered with AUA on safer estrogen therapy for postmenopausal women. These moves hit home for Americans by cutting drug costs via 340B, curbing fraud to stabilize premiums, and boosting rural care access. Businesses like hospitals and suppliers face easier compliance but tighter audits; states gain accurate BHP payments but must adapt to fraud checks. No big international ripples here. Experts at King & Spalding note the 340B win applies nationwide, pending appeal. MedPAC’s March 12 report urges Medicare payment tweaks for post-acute care. Citizens, report fraud via CMS hotlines and submit CRUSH comments by March 30 at cms.gov. Watch for FY2026 appropriations on subsidies and rural health’s $418 million boost. Stay tuned for CRUSH rollout and court appeals. Visit hhs.gov for details. Engage now—your input shapes policy. Thanks for tuning in, listeners—subscribe for more. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai. For more http://www.quietplease.ai Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.