Foley & Lardner LLP partner Judith Waltz weighed in on the U.S. Health and Human Services’ (HHS) plan to speed policymaking through bypassing the public notice and comment process in Modern Healthcare and Report on Medicare Compliance.
In Modern Healthcare, Waltz cited a recent order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, which noted that the notice and comment process is entrenched in case law and temporarily blocked grant cuts at the National Institutes of Health.
Discussing the HHS’ policy statement signaling the rollback, Waltz commented in Report on Medicare Compliance on the influence of a sense of urgency around rules changes in areas like Medicaid and the National Institutes of Health grants. “People might be riled up about the Medicaid changes, but the changes could already be in place without the opportunity for the public to comment and perhaps modify the agency’s approach,” Waltz said.
“Now, the public may have to live with the changes first,” she added.
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