RISE summarizes recent regulatory-related and news headlines.
CMS pulls guidance on health-related social needs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced this week that it is rescinding previously released guidance on health equity for state Medicaid programs and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
CMS had previously issued two Center Informational Bulletins (CIBs), the first in November 2023 and the second in December 2024, which provided guidance on the opportunities available under Medicaid and CHIP to cover certain services and supports to address health-related social needs. Both have now been rescinded.
CMS said it will now consider states’ applications to cover these types of services and supports on a “case-by-case” basis to determine if it satisfies the federal requirements for approval under the applicable provisions of the Social Security Act and federal regulations.
KFF poll: Two-thirds of the public share concerns over Trump’s dissolving of USAID
A new KFF poll, which surveyed 1,322 U.S. adults between February 18-25, 2025, shows that two-thirds (67 percent) of the public believe the Trump administration’s efforts to dissolve the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will lead to increased illness and death in low-income countries, while a comparable majority (62%) anticipate more humanitarian crises worldwide.
However, nearly half of the public also believes that dissolving USAID will substantially reduce the U.S. budget deficit (47 percent) and enable funds to be reallocated to domestic programs (47 percent).
Additional poll findings include:
- Democrats (91 percent) and independents (69 percent) expect more illness and death in low-income countries, whereas Republicans expect positive impacts on domestic programs (72 percent) and the budget deficit (67 percent).
- Most of the public “grossly” overestimated how much the federal government spends on foreign aid. On average, U.S. adults guessed foreign aid accounts for 26 percent of the federal budget; however, it is actually about one percent of the budget. Once informed, far fewer people said the U.S. spends too much on foreign aid.
- After learning that only about one percent of the federal budget is spent on foreign aid, the share saying the U.S. spends too much drops to 50 percent among Republicans, 39 percent among independents, and 15 percent among Democrats.
- Fifty percent of the public believe the U.S. should play a leading or major role in improving health for those in developing countries. Thirty-six percent said the U.S. should play a minor role in global health, and only 14 percent said it should not play any role.
- Seventy percent of adults said spending money on improving health in developing countries helps protect the health of Americans by preventing the spread of infection diseases, including 86 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of independents. Forty-nine percent of Republicans agreed, and 51 percent said it does not have much of an impact.
Survey finds Americans borrowed $74B to pay for health care in 2024
A recent survey by West Health and Gallup revealed that over 31 million Americans had to borrow approximately $74 billion last year to cover health care costs, despite the majority having some form of health insurance.
Of the millions of Americans who collectively borrowed $74 billion last year, 58 percent had to borrow $500 or more; 41 percent had to borrow $1,000 or more; and 14 percent had to borrow $5,000 or more.
The study, which surveyed 3,583 U.S. adults, aged 18 and older, between November 11-18, 2024, underscored the critical need for more affordable health care in the U.S.
“Too many Americans are racking up medical debt whether they have health insurance or not,” said Tim Lash, president, West Health Policy Center, in a statement. “A high-priced health care system that requires Americans to take out loans or make painful tradeoffs just to stay healthy is in desperate need of policy reform or things will get even worse.”
Key findings include:
- One-third (28 percent) of participants said they were “very concerned” that a major health event could put them into debt
- Nearly 20 percent of Americans aged 49 and under needed to borrow money to cover medical costs compared to nine percent of those aged 50 to 64
- Women between the ages 50 and 64 (12 percent) were twice as likely to say they had to borrow money to cover health care costs compared to men in the same age group (six percent)
- Of Medicare-eligible adults, two percent reported having to borrow money for health care
- Black (23 percent) and Hispanic adults (16 percent) were significantly more likely to report having borrowed money than white adults (nine percent)
- Black adults aged 18-49 (29 percent) were the biggest borrowers, followed by Hispanic adults (19 percent) and white adults (14 percent) in the same age group
- Americans with children under the age of 18 (19 percent) were twice as likely to report having borrowed compared to those without children (eight percent)
RFK Jr. makes call to action on measles outbreak
Through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has issued a call to action amid the current measles outbreak in Texas.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has reported 146 confirmed cases since late January 2025, primarily in the South Region. Most of those affected have been children, with 116 of the 146 cases occurring in individuals under the age of 18. DSHS also reported that 79 of the confirmed cases involved individuals who had not received the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, while 62 cases had unknown vaccine status. At least five had received an MMR vaccine. Tragically, the outbreak has claimed the life of a school-aged child, the first measles-related fatality in the United States in over a decade.
Kennedy said he has directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to work closely with the Texas health authorities to provide comprehensive support. HHS’ efforts include offering technical assistance, laboratory support, vaccines, and therapeutic medications as needed, he added.
“The measles outbreak in Texas is a call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health,” said Kennedy, in the statement. “By working together -- parents, health care providers, community leaders, and government officials, we can prevent future outbreaks and protect the health of our nation. Under my leadership, HHS is and will always be committed to radical transparency to regain the public’s trust in its health agencies.”
Since Kennedy’s call to action, the New Mexico Department of Health on Thursday reported the second measles death, an unvaccinated adult.
Commonwealth Fund report finds many MA enrollees aren’t using supplemental benefits
Though most Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees are in plans that offer supplemental benefits such as dental (98 percent), vision (100 percent), heating (96 percent), and OTC medication (88 percent), many of these enrollees are not using them, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.
In 2024, researchers conducted a comprehensive survey of 3,280 Medicare beneficiaries to assess the importance of supplemental benefits and their utilization of these benefits.
Key findings include:
- Most Medicare beneficiaries (83 percent) said they considered supplemental benefits to be an important part of their coverage, including a larger portion of those with lower incomes (88 percent), functional limitations (90 percent), Black individuals (89 percent), and Hispanic individuals (95 percent).
- A larger share of MA enrollees (89 percent) said supplemental benefits were important to them compared to traditional Medicare beneficiaries (74 percent).
- Forty-two percent of MA enrollees reported using dental benefits, 41 percent reported using vision benefits, and seven percent reported using hearing benefits. Use of supplemental benefits was higher among enrollees who viewed the benefits as an important part of their coverage.
- Forty-six percent of MA enrollees reported using an OTC medication benefits, including a “significantly larger” portion of enrollees with a household income below $50,000 (55 percent) or those who viewed supplemental benefits to be an important part of their coverage (49 percent).
VA announces plans to terminate 585 non-mission-critical, duplicative contracts
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced this week that it will cancel 585 non-mission critical or duplicative contracts, which the agency said will be phased out over several days and represent less than one percent of the roughly 90,000 contracts, worth more than $67 billion, the VA currently has in place.
Mission-critical contracts will be exempt from the terminations. The VA said the move will allow the agency to redirect more than $900 million to health care, benefits, and services for VA beneficiaries.
“Under President Trump, VA is focused on becoming more efficient, responsive and accountable to the Veterans, family members, caregivers and survivors we are charged with serving. We are putting Veterans first at VA. That means finding new and better ways to do our jobs and focus our resources. Every dollar we spend on wasteful or duplicative contracts is one less dollar we can spend on Veterans, and given that choice, I will always side with the Veteran,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins in a statement.