CMS on Friday (Aug. 16) officially denied Utah’s request for enhanced federal funding for a partial Medicaid expansion -- as well as Utah’s proposed enrollment caps policy, which the agency said essentially amounted to a partial expansion with the higher match -- but the agency has yet to decide whether it will approve the state’s request for per-capita caps.

White House budget officials and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America are scheduled to meet Aug. 26 to discuss the Trump administration’s plan to tie U.S. drug prices to those in foreign countries, according to the Office of Management and Budget website.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma declined to say whether the Medicare International Pricing Index is a separate initiative from the so-called favored-nations executive order the president is writing to ensure the United States pays no more for drugs than other countries.

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia are involved in lawsuits challenging the controversial so-called public charge rule finalized Monday, arguing that the rule undermines the role of public programs such as Medicaid and does not improve self-sufficiency for immigrants.

State officials should educate providers on the role of palliative care, create avenues for Medicaid reimbursement for palliative care and devise palliative care best practices to improve access, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.

FDA on Thursday (Aug. 16) approved a third tissue-agnostic cancer treatment that targets biomarkers found in a multiple different tumor types rather than one specific location in the body.

An FDA advisory committee will convene in September to discuss GlaxoSmithKline’s proposed over-the-counter (OTC) nicotine oral spray for smoking cessation, the agency announced Friday (Aug. 16).

The Vapor Technology Association and Vapor Stockroom are asking a Kentucky district court to make FDA hold off on enforcing the deadline by which all electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) makers must submit premarket tobacco applications (PMTAs) until the agency issues rules on how to submit such applications.