Dr. Oz urges Americans to get measles vaccine as outbreaks worsen

CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz on Sunday urged Americans to get vaccinated against measles amid outbreaks in the United States that have led the country to report four times as many cases in the past few weeks as it typically sees throughout an entire calendar year, according to CDC.

"Take the vaccine, please," Oz said in an interview on CNN. "We have a solution for our problem. Not all illnesses are equally dangerous, and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses. But measles is one you should get your vaccine [for]."

Oz noted that CMS covers measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) shots through Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and health plans purchased through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace.

"There will never be a barrier to Americans [to] get access to the measles vaccine," Oz said. "And it is part of the core schedule."

According to CDC numbers released Friday, there have been at least 733 confirmed U.S. measles cases reported. Before last year, which saw a record-breaking 2,276 measles cases, the United States averaged 180 cases annually since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.

Multiple states have reported ongoing outbreaks, with most occurring in pockets of under-vaccinated or unvaccinated communities.

"Because it's such an infectious virus, whenever you see measles outbreaks, it in effect, highlights areas of the country or communities in which vaccination rates are low," said Demetre Daskalakis, former head of CDC's branch that tracks diseases, including measles.

The MMR vaccine is given in two doses, and the shots are 97% effective at preventing measles, according to CDC.

(Rego, The Hill, 2/8; Dunbar, The Guardian, 2/8; Benadjaoud, ABC News, 2/6)

CMS proposes coverage changes to ACA plans

CMS on Monday released a draft payment rule for 2027 that proposes several potential changes to ACA exchange plans that could significantly impact enrollees and what they pay for health coverage.

In the rule, CMS proposed repealing a requirement that both federal and state-based exchanges on the federal platform offer standardized plan options. The marketplace rule issued in 2023 required insurers to offer plans with standardized cost-sharing and pre-deductible coverage at gold, silver, and bronze levels. In the proposed rule, CMS would allow insurers to discontinue standardized plans or revise their cost-sharing policies for those products.

CMS also proposed allowing some non-network plans to attain qualified health plan status if they can prove they have a sufficient network. Under the ACA, qualified health plans provide essential health benefits, adhere to established cost-sharing limits, and are permitted to participate in federal exchanges.

The rule also proposes allowing insurers to provide a wider array of catastrophic plans, ranging from less than one year in duration to 10 consecutive years. It would also expand eligibility for hardship exemptions for some enrollees age 30 and older.

In addition, the proposed rule would:

• Update several marketing practices, including developing a clearer set of prohibited practices and requiring brokers and agents to follow stricter eligibility procedures.
• Establish and implement a program monitoring any advance premium tax credit payments sent out by state-based exchanges.
• Extend a prohibition on offering special enrollment periods for individuals below 150% of the federal poverty level.
• Require pre-enrollment verification checks for at least 75% of new applicants looking to participate in a special enrollment period.
• Enact stronger language about CMS's auditing policies regarding advanced premium tax credits.
• Recalibrate its risk adjustment auditing methodology.
• Update the data CMS uses for risk adjustment audits by moving data from 2021 to 2023.
• Remove a policy that requires states to spend at least one year operating as a state-based exchange using the federal eligibility and enrollment platform.

(Early, Modern Healthcare, 2/9)

Roth also suggested that HHS could restart the administrative process for a similar program.

"The Parties agree that, if Defendants decide to begin a new 340B rebate program, Defendants will issue a new notice, including soliciting new applications," the court documents say. "Furthermore, the Parties agree that Defendants will solicit comments either prior to or concurrently with a new notice, or both. Furthermore, Defendants agree to set any effective date for any new 340B rebate program to no earlier than 90 days following the public announcement of any approval of drug manufacturer applications—to avoid the prospect of any extremely expedited future litigation."

AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said the organization "appreciates HHS' decision to go back to the drawing board and rethink its Rebate Program. We remain grateful to the district court and First Circuit for quickly recognizing the many legal flaws in the original Program."

"The AHA is eager to work with the Administration on policies that make drugs more affordable and ensure access to care for American families," Pollack added. "A rebate program that undermines safety-net hospitals' ability to offer more comprehensive care would only harm the nation's most vulnerable communities."

(Morse, Healthcare Finance News, 2/9; Olsen, Healthcare Dive, 2/6)

FDA relaxes rules on food dyes that are 'naturally derived'

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week announced that FDA would be relaxing its enforcement of federal food additive regulations, allowing food makers to claim their products have "no artificial colors" provided they use dyes that aren't petroleum-based.

FDA has previously prohibited food makers from advertising that their products contain "no artificial colors" unless that have no added dyes of any kind. In a joint statement, Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the new change would encourage food makers to use natural dyes rather than artificial dyes for products aimed at consumers avoiding artificial ingredients.

"We are making it easier for companies to move away from petroleum-based synthetic colors and adopt safer, naturally derived alternatives," Kennedy said.

Health advocates have been critical of synthetic food dyes for many years, citing a limited body of evidence connecting them with behavioral issues in children. However, the food industry has insisted that any ingredient that uses dyes has been shown to be safe, and some health experts have said some natural food dyes may not be safer.

(Stolberg, New York Times, 2/5)