• District of Columbia: FTC has launched a new healthcare task force to help combat anticompetitive behavior in the industry. The task force will lead healthcare enforcement, develop investigation strategies, and identify legal cases where regulators can get involved. According to FTC, creating the task force aligns with an executive order from President Donald Trump that directed federal agencies to "support a more competitive, innovative, affordable, and higher quality healthcare system." Included in the task force are FTC's Bureaus of Competition, Consumer Protection, and Economics and the Offices of Policy Planning and Technology. FTC also said it hopes to expand the task force's membership to include staff from other agencies like HHS and the Department of Justice in the future. "In standing up this Healthcare Task Force, I intend to ensure that the FTC is doing everything possible to take a comprehensive, coordinated, and effective approach to addressing existing and emerging consumer-protection and competition issues across the healthcare industry," wrote FTC chair Andrew Ferguson in a memo. (Morse, Healthcare Finance, 3/24; Parduhn, Healthcare Dive, 3/23)
• Florida: Florida last week approved almost $31 million in short-term funding for HIV medications, reversing a prior decision to restrict access to a program that helps people afford the treatments. Recently, almost 20 states, including Florida, have limited access to programs that help fund HIV medications or insurance premiums for eligible patients due to financial restraints. The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) initially imposed stricter eligibility rules on March 1, which led to 12,000 residents with HIV being removed from the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). After a lawsuit from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and protests in Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee, the Florida House of Representatives and State Senate unanimously approved legislation to provide $30.9 million to fund the state's ADAP through June 30 and restore the previous eligibility rules. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) later signed the bill into law. "Lawmakers on both sides understood the urgency of the crisis," said state Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith (D). "It is a matter of life and death. People had already lost access to their medications." However, because the law only provides funding for the ADAP through June 30, the future of the program is still uncertain. According to Smith, lawmakers may need to pass another temporary funding bill as they try to find a way to keep the program solvent. (Levenson, New York Times, 3/25)
• Maryland: CMS has finalized new standards to allow providers to share claims documentation electronically instead of by physical mail or fax. The new standards aim to cut wasteful spending and reduce the amount of physical paperwork associated with claims documentation. According to CMS, the standards could save the healthcare industry roughly $782 million each year. The standards will take effect May 26, and covered entities will have until May 26, 2028, to comply with the requirements. "The 1980s called, and they want their fax machines back," said CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz. "The futuristic medical breakthroughs we've achieved, like augmented reality glasses that give surgeons X-ray vision, shouldn't have to coexist with administrative systems that often lag decades behind. This new rule will modernize American healthcare by standardizing electronic claims attachments and enabling secure electronic signatures. Because every minute providers save on paperwork is another minute they can spend caring for patients." (Olsen, Healthcare Dive, 3/23; Morse, Healthcare Finance, 3/23)

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