In this update:
- Federal Agencies
- GAO Report Warns of HHS Security Gaps
- CMS Launches Rural Health Transformation Program
- CDC Adds Five ACIP Members
- HHS Announces Organ Procurement Reform Actions
- Legislative Updates
- House Republicans Introduce Seven-Week Continuing Resolution
- House E&C Committee Advances Health Care Legislation
- Other Updates
- NCQA Unveils 2025 Health Plan Ratings
- AHIP Announces Plans Will Continue Vaccine Coverage
Federal Agencies
GAO Report Warns of HHS Security Gaps
On September 3rd, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sent a letter to the Chief Information Officer for HHS, summarizing a recent GAO investigation and subsequent recommendations on the effective use and security of HHS’ information technology. The letter states that GAO identified 82 open recommendations which relate to GAO High-Risk areas. In addition, 37 recommendations are classified as sensitive. One recommendation, related to the development of a work plan for the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019 (PAHPAIA) implementation, is deemed a priority matter due to its potential to “significantly improve HHS’s ability to deter threats and manage its critical systems, operations, and information.”
The letter and a complete list of recommendations can be found here.
CMS Launches Rural Health Transformation Program
On September 15th, CMS released guidance for states to apply for funding from the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. States are required to provide an assessment to show that funding does not duplicate or replace existing program funding. State applications must be submitted by November 5, 2025, with awardees announced by December 31, 2025.
Applications should promote five strategic goals and funds must be spent on at least three of nine strategic priority objectives, including prevention and chronic disease, workforce recruiting and training, behavioral health, and both provider-facing and consumer-facing technology.
Funding will be allocated in $10B installments over five years. Half of the yearly funding ($5B) will be evenly distributed among approved states, and the remaining half will be competitively awarded based on performance and opportunities for impact.
More information about the funding opportunity is available here.
CDC Adds Five ACIP Members
On September 15th, HHS announced the appointment of five new members to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). These new members will join the seven members Secretary Kennedy named in June, following the dismissal of the previous 17-member Committee. The Committee is scheduled to meet in Atlanta on September 18th and 19th to discuss, among other topics, recommendations on guidance for fall Covid-19 booster shots and the pediatric vaccine schedule, including hepatitis B vaccines for infants at the time of birth. The newly appointed members are:
- Catherine M. Stein, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Population & Quantitative Health, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
- Evelyn Griffin, M.D., Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Baton Rouge General Hospital, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, M.B.A., Director of Medication Access and Affordability, AscensionRx, St. Louis, Missouri.
- Kirk Milhoan, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Director, For Hearts and Souls Free Medical Clinic, Kihei, Hawaii.
- Raymond Pollak, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.R.C.S.
A number of the new members have a history of opposing Covid-19 vaccines and promoting unproven treatments like ivermectin.
The HHS announcement can be found here.
HHS Announces Organ Procurement Reform Actions
On September 18th, HHS announced actions resulting from its investigations into issues in the organ procurement system, which are intended to strengthen accountability, enhance transparency, and increase patient protections in the organ transplant system. The actions include:
- The first ever decertification of an organ transplant organization (OPO)
- Directing all OPOs to hire a full-time patient safety officer
- Allowing physician discretion on testing for tuberculosis and potentially other conditions
- New public reporting of organs allocated outside the standard match list, and safeguards to prevent line-skipping
- A new anonymous misconduct reporting system
- Removal of DEI provisions from the 2024 IOTA model
A summary of the announcement can be found here.
Legislative Updates
House Republicans Introduce Seven-Week Continuing Resolution
On September 16th, Republican leadership in the House of Representatives filed a largely “clean” Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government through the middle of November. The House bill includes extensions of telehealth and hospital-at-home services, provides additional implementation funding for the No Surprises Act, and stalls disproportionate share funding cuts for hospitals, but does not include an extension of enhanced Premium Tax Credits (PTC) for insurance purchased via the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplaces.
If the House can pass the legislation, the bill moves to the Senate where 60 votes are needed for passage, requiring seven Democratic votes. Democrats said on Tuesday that they would not support the legislation as written. Instead, Democrats introduced their own funding plan on Wednesday that would extend enhanced premium tax credits, reverse many of the health care cuts included in the OBBBA, and limit ways the Trump Administration can modify funding already approved by Congress.
Current government funding expires on September 30th. The House bill is available here. The Democratic bill is available here.
House E&C Committee Advances Health Care Legislation
On September 17th, the House Energy & Commerce Committee met to markup six bills on a variety of health-related topics, such as increased investments in rural health care, telehealth, research for rare disease drugs, and a reauthorization of the Healthy Start program. Collectively, these bills received bipartisan support and were unanimously voted out of Committee. Bills advanced out of committee include:
- Improving Care in Rural America Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 2493)
- To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs (H.R. 3419)
- To amend title II of the Public Health Service Act to include as an additional right or privilege of commissioned officers of the Public Health Service (and their beneficiaries) certain leave provided under title 10, United States Code to commissioned officers of the Army (or their beneficiaries) (H.R. 2846)
- Give Kids a Chance Act of 2025 (H.R. 1262)
- To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to increase transparency in generic drug applications (H.R. 1843)
- Healthy Start Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 3302)
The E&C press release and related materials can be found here.
Other Updates
NCQA Unveils 2025 Health Plan Ratings
On September 16th, the National Council for Quality Assurance (NCQA) released its 2025 Health Plan Ratings, an annual report on the quality and effectiveness of health plans. Ratings evaluated 998 commercial, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid health plans based on measures of clinical quality and patient experience. Just over 1% of these plans (11) achieved a 5-star rating, while 5.5% of plans (55) earned 4.5 stars. Major findings from the 2025 report include year-over-year improvements in transitions of care for Medicare beneficiaries, improvements in nearly all six diabetes-related measures and the kidney health measure, and improvements in adult immunization trends. Data on childhood immunization rates shows a continued decline, though at a reduced pace compared to 2024 data.
The full report can be found here.
AHIP Announces Plans Will Continue Vaccine Coverage
On September 16th, AHIP released a statement affirming that member health plans will “continue to cover all ACIP-recommended immunizations that were recommended as of September 1, 2025, including updated formulations of the Covid-19 and influenza vaccines, with no cost-sharing for patients through the end of 2026.” The date cited in the statement precedes any changes to vaccine guidance that may be issued when the newly-appointed ACIP Committee meets to discuss vaccine safety and schedules on September 18th and 19th. The pledge is significant because of the reach of AHIP’s member plans, which together provide coverage and services to over 200 million Americans through more than a dozen Blues plans, Centene, Aetna, Elevance, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Molina, and Cigna. UnitedHealthcare, the country’s largest health insurer, is not an AHIP member.
The statement is available here.