RISE summarizes recent regulatory-related headlines.
Public health data removed from government agency websites to comply with executive order
Researchers are trying to collect and archive information about vaccines, veterans care, and scientific research that has been removed from many government websites in response to President Donald Trump’s orders that target diversity initiatives and gender ideology.
The New York Times reports that more than 3,000 pages from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including research articles about chronic disease prevention, warning signs of Alzheimer’s, overdose prevention training, and vaccine guidelines during pregnancy, have been removed from the site. Information was also scrubbed from the Department of Veterans Affairs on LGBTQ veteran care, minority veteran care, and the equity of the Louisiana health care system, according to NYT.
Researchers told ABC News they were trying to collect and archive as much data as possible from the sites before they were taken down. Removed pages included CDC information on the rate of HIV diagnoses, breakdowns of infections by race and gender, and the probability of HIV transmission by various forms of sex. Information about minority health and health equity was also taken down from The Food and Drug Administration, as were resources on reproductive care and abortion access from reproductiverights.gov.
The loss of the data will make it harder to handle outbreaks and fix health disparities, Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told Modern Healthcare. “When they take that data away, we’re absolutely blind,” he told the publication. “The true impact is more people get sick, and more people die.”
In response to the data scrub, Doctors for America has filed a lawsuit against the Office of Personnel Management, CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Department of Health & Human Services for removing health-related data from publicly accessible government websites. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists will host PDFs of government-issued ob/gyn-related guidance at risk of being purged, according to MedPage Today.
Meanwhile, the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics has drafted a letter, urging Congress to restore any government data removed by the Trump administration and prevent it from happening again, Bloomberg reports.
Judge extends pause on Trump funding freeze, implies initial order ignored
A federal judge has extended a pause on President Trump’s federal funding freeze due to complaints that the administration was not following the original order. A small nonprofit which helps adults with disabilities live in their own homes has been unable to obtain funds since the order, according to USA Today. The organization is normally reimbursed by the Department of Health and Human Services on an as-needed basis.
Although the White House Office of Management and Budget reportedly withdrew the federal aid freeze on Wednesday after it was temporarily blocked by a federal district judge, USA Today reported that confusion over the status of the funding continued because the White House press secretary said the directive to pause funding remained in effect.
In her order, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan blocked federal agencies from implementing, giving effect to, or reinstating under a different name the directive of the Office of Management and Budget memo and mandates agencies to release any disbursements they previously froze.
Trump orders agencies to cut 10 regulations for every new one
President Trump has issued an executive order that calls for federal agencies to slash at least 10 rules, regulations, or guidance documents they will repeal for each new one they introduce.
For fiscal year 2025, the total incremental cost of all new regulations, including repealed regulations, must be significantly less than zero.
The rule is similar to an order he instituted during his first term when he had agencies eliminate two regulations for each new one issued. President Joe Biden revoked that order in the early days of his administration.
“This Executive Order builds on President Trump’s previous success to improve daily lives of the American people by reducing unnecessary, burdensome, and costly federal regulations,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
California man pleads guilty for role in $17M Medicare hospice and home health care fraud schemes
A California man pleaded guilty this week to health care fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering in connection with a years-long scheme to defraud Medicare of more than $17 million through sham hospice companies and his home health care company.
Petros Fichidzhyan, 43, of Granada Hills, Calif. engaged in a scheme with others to operate a series of sham hospice companies, according to court documents. Fichidzhyan, along with co-schemers, impersonated the identities of foreign nationals to use as the purported owners of the hospices—including using the identities to open bank accounts and sign property leases—and submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for hospice services that were not medically necessary and not provided. In submitting the false claims, Fichidzhyan and his co-schemers also misappropriated the identifying information of doctors, claiming to Medicare that the doctors had determined hospice services were necessary, when in fact the purported recipients of these hospice services were not terminally ill and had never requested nor received care from the sham hospices.
As a result of the scheme, Medicare paid the sham hospices nearly $16 million. Fichidzhyan personally received nearly $7 million of the proceeds from the fraud scheme, including more than $5.3 million in transfers to his personal and business bank accounts, which were laundered through a dozen shell and third-party bank accounts. Fichidzhyan additionally admitted to wrongfully obtaining more than $1 million for his home health care agency through the fraudulent use of a doctor’s name and identifying information in certifying Medicare beneficiaries for home health care, which he attempted to cover up by paying the doctor $11,000.
Fichidzhyan pleaded guilty to health care fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14 and faces a mandatory penalty of two years in prison on the aggravated identity theft charge, a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the health care fraud charge, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the money laundering charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Bipartisan legislation would ensure Medicare patients get access to cancer detection technologies
Members of the Senate Finance Committee have introduced the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Screening Coverage Act that would ensure Medicare beneficiaries’ access to cutting-edge tests capable of detecting multiple types of cancer before symptoms appear. Bipartisan companion legislation (H.R. 842) was also introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate bill is sponsored by Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and members Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.)
“Breakthroughs in early cancer detection can drive more effective treatments and higher survival rates,” said Crapo. “By providing a Medicare coverage pathway for multi-cancer early detection screening tests, this bipartisan bill would ensure seniors can receive lifesaving preventive care, a crucial step in combating the chronic disease epidemic. With strong support from patients and families across the country, I look forward to advancing this legislation across the finish line and to President Trump’s desk.”
The bill would:
• Establish a coverage pathway under Medicare for certain U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved MCED tests, which can screen for dozens of cancer types, many of which currently lack an effective screening option
• Authorize the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide Medicare coverage for FDA-approved MCED screening tests, enabling beneficiaries to access these technologies, which currently lack a viable coverage pathway under the program
• Maintain CMS authority to use an evidence-based process to determine coverage parameters for these new tests
• State that new diagnostic technologies will supplement existing screenings and will not impact existing coverage and cost-sharing