HHS Cracks Down on Fraud While Expanding Access to Care and Telehealth

Welcome back, listeners, to your weekly HHS update. This week’s top headline: On February 25, Vice President J.D. Vance, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz unveiled a major crackdown on Medicare and Medicaid fraud, including deferring $259.5 million in federal funding to Minnesota over questionable claims and a nationwide moratorium on new enrollments for certain medical suppliers. As Secretary Kennedy put it in the White House announcement, these data-driven moves aim to “prevent fraud before it occurs, hold bad actors accountable, and protect taxpayer dollars.” Key developments are piling up fast. Congress passed the FY 2026 Labor-HHS appropriations bill, boosting Community Health Centers to $4.6 billion while extending telehealth flexibilities through 2027, the Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver to 2030, and delaying Medicaid DSH cuts until 2028. CMS updated the Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice for better readability—hospitals must switch by April 21—and expanded the Diabetes Prevention Program, dropping lifetime enrollment limits and adding virtual suppliers through 2029. Labs face a March 1 cutoff for paper fee coupons, and hospitals have until March 31 to submit OPPS drug cost data. HHS also shook up leadership, with Secretary Kennedy bolstering his team and Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill departing to push the MAHA agenda. For everyday Americans, this means safer benefits and lower costs—fraud crackdowns could save billions, while telehealth keeps care accessible, especially in rural spots. Businesses like pharmacies gain from PBM reforms mandating rebate pass-throughs and “any willing pharmacy” rules by 2028, but suppliers face tighter scrutiny. States get breathing room on DSH payments and new maternity cost studies due in 30 months, easing local budgets. Submit comments on the proposed fraud regulations by March 20 via CMS’s Request for Information. Watch for the FY 2027 budget soon and April 1 lab fee updates. For more, visit HHS.gov or CMS.gov. If fraud tips arise, report them at CrushingFraudWasteAbuse.hhs.gov. Thanks for tuning in—subscribe for updates! 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.