Humana and CVS Health have entered negotiations to purchase primary care provider Cano Health, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia, Florida, and New York.

• District of Columbia: Leaders on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and House Energy and Commerce committees on Thursday agreed to renew programs that provide funding to important FDA programs for five more years. Notably, if Congress did not act before the end of September, FDA would have been forced to furlough staff and slow critical work, including drug approvals. Under the agreement, user fees industries pay to fund new product assessments will be covered. The measure is expected to be included in a spending bill to keep the government funded into the next fiscal year. (Knight/Sullivan, Axios, 9/22)

• Florida: Humana and CVS Health recently entered negotiations to purchase Cano Health, with a possible deal to purchase the primary-care provider (PCP) in the coming weeks. According to people familiar with the situation, the negotiations with Humana, CVS, and other unnamed parties are serious. The sale of Cano would represent the latest deal involving a large organization acquiring primary-care assets to provide services to patients. Notably, Humana and Cano have deep ties, with Cano serving as Humana's biggest independent PCP in Florida. Humana has already started building its primary care business, with plans to further expand its offerings. Last week, Humana CEO Bruce Broussard said that the company has accelerated its investment in the "value-based" primary care sector over the past five years, making it the largest senior-focused PCP in the United States. Broussard said Humana and CVS see a total market of more than $700 billion in the sector. (Cooper/Cimilluca, Wall Street Journal, 9/22)

• New York: New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday announced that private businesses in the city would no longer be required to enforce Covid-19 vaccines, effective Nov. 1. "The new bivalent booster is here, providing better protection against variants we are seeing now and quite likely against variants in the future as well," Adams said. "And with so many tools now more easily accessible to keep New Yorkers safe from COVID-19, the additional flexibility we are announcing for private employers, students, and parents puts the choice back into each of their hands," he added. "With updated boosters, we can head into the fall knowing we're protected against whatever this season has in store," added New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Ashwin Vasan. (Ravipati, Axios, 9/20)