Weekly Legislative Update April 7-16, 2025

Table of Contents

1. DC and Federal Update
2. Cybersecurity, AI, & Tech
3. The States
4. The Industry

Highlights

• Dr. Oz confirmed to lead CMS
• Range of implications/views on HHS workforce cuts
• Dental industry wants tariff exemptions
• Healthcare AI potpourri
• State PDABs & AI efforts garnering attention

DC and Federal Update

Agencies

The Senate confirmed Dr. Oz to serve as CMS Administrator. Dr. Oz’ testimony during his confirmation hearing here and here.  Analysis here.

 HHS’s workforce cuts and reorg are generating a wide range of implications and viewpoints:

• Fierce Healthcare reports that CMS was “largely spared,” and an HHS fact sheet said that the cuts “will not impact Medicare and Medicaid services.” An editorial in KFF agreed the reorg does not appear to significantly touch Medicaid, Medicare, and the ACA, but is focused mostly on public health. Some public health leaders condemned the moves.
• In contrast, the AP and NBC claim that it is “unclear” how the reorg will impact Medicare/Medicaid/the ACA and the plans offering them. Benefits Pro cautions that the cuts could lead to more prior auth and billing problems for Medicare patients. Modern Healthcare articles here and here dive into how the reorg will impact providers (reduction in services/costs/innovation/supplies/staff) and claims/disputes (oversight/enforcement, processing backlogs) respectively.
• Bipartisan Senate leaders asked Sec. Kennedy to testify about the reorg. And Politico reports on some of the internal fallout within DOGE, which caused delays in implementing the HHS layoff plan.

The ADA and several other dental orgs asked US Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer to exempt dental and medical supplies, equipment, and devices from the newly imposed tariffs.

The Justice Dept. launched an anticompetitive regulations task force, aimed at eliminating federal and state regs that hinder market competition – including in healthcare. 

Congress

Two GOP senators and one GOP House member introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to nullify the CFPB final rule banning banks from including medical debt on credit reports.

• The initial rule was finalized under Pres. Biden, but Pres. Trump froze the rule. Under a CRA, Congress can pass a resolution and, with presidential approval, overturn certain agency actions.

Cybersecurity, AI, & Tech

Pres. Trump extended the national emergency declaration related to cyberattacks for another full year.

• Relatedly, according to a new report, cyberattacks have hit 78% of US healthcare orgs., with the avg cost of a breach reaching $11M per incident.

Healthcare AI news:

• TechTarget articles here and here cover the pros and cons of AI in healthcare. Another feature here outlines the “unclear financial impact” of healthcare AI and how it's being measured.
• Another TechTarget article reviews Pres. Trump’s rescission of a Biden-era executive order on AI and the subsequent move by the health AI industry to “self-regulate as the feds change course.”
• Bill Gates says AI will eliminate the “scarcity of expertise” in healthcare. Medical advice and teaching will become “free, commonplace” in the next decade thanks to the technology, Gates says. AI is already impacting behavioral healthcare here.

The States

A coalition of 23 state attorneys general and governors sued HHS over the $11B in funding cuts to public health programs.

• HHS declined to comment on the lawsuit, but had previously remarked on the cuts: “The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic.”

 A Colorado judge tossed out drug manufacturer Amgen’s lawsuit against the state’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) over the Board’s ability to limit what health plans pay for an Amgen drug the PDAB has declared “unaffordable.”

• The judge did not believe Amgen has suffered any harm, as the PDAB’s actions do not limit what Amgen can charge for the drug. The PDAB is now set to begin the price-setting process in mid-April.
• Colorado’s PDAB is the most developed in the nation – and the first to attempt setting a price ceiling on any drug – and many other states are watching to see how this lawsuit and the PDAB’s progress continues.
• Maryland’s PDAB is following most closely behind Colorado and is in the process of considering the affordability of six different drugs, one of which is Ozempic.

Virginia’s governor vetoed a “pioneering” private sector AI regulation bill (HB2094), stating that the bill’s “rigid framework fails to account for the rapidly evolving and fast-moving nature of the AI industry” and overly burdens small businesses.

• A reported 900 AI-related legislative proposals have been introduced in states in 2025, according to Governing.com. Many of these bills focus less on regulation and more on “innovation,” which is a change from last year’s filings.
• Readers may recall that as of the end of 2024, just California, Colorado, and Utah had passed broadly applicable AI regulation bills for the private sector.

 There are two competing dental compacts designed to increase license portability for dentists and dental hygienists and the competition between the two in the states is heating up. Frequent readers are likely familiar with the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact from the Council of State Governments (CSG), but a competing compact – the Interstate Dental and Dental Hygiene Licensure Compact – has been created by the American Association of Dental Boards. 

• While the CSG compact is currently more popular, with 11 fully enacted states, eight states introduced the AADB compact this year. Read about the differences between the two here.

The Industry

Fair Health reports that retail clinic and urgent care center visits declined 12% nationwide from 2022 to 2023, and telehealth use dropped 3%. In contrast, emergency room utilization rose by 4%.

Enrollment in the ACA marketplaces has increased, more than doubling since 2020. Enrollment was particularly concentrated in states won by President Trump in last year’s election.

 This update is solely for informational purposes and should not be relied upon as legal advice.