The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Dr. Robert Califf as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Senate narrowly confirmed his appointment on a 50-46 vote with six Republicans supporting his appointment and five Democrats voting against his appointment. Califf was identified as a candidate by the Biden Administration last year. Dr….
Read More »The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced it is seeking feedback on topics related to health care access, such as enrolling in and maintaining coverage, access health care services and supports, and ensuring adequate provider payment rates to encourage provider availability and quality. According to CMS, the request for information (RFI)…
Read More »This week, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued an order postponing the effective date of the “Required Warnings for Cigarettes Packages and Advertisements” final rule from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The district court delayed implementation of the rule for an additional three months, until April 9, 2023….
Read More »The Newsom Administration within the past week announced a series of funding awards to address homelessness throughout California. We detail these announcements below: $38 Million Announced to Combat Youth Homelessness Governor Gavin Newsom late last week announced $38 million in new grant programs for community-based organizations statewide through the Homeless Youth Emergency Services and Housing…
Read More »The California Transportation Commission (CTC), in partnership with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), will release the 2023 Active Transportation Program (ATP) Cycle 6 request for applications on March 16, 2022, to fund local infrastructure (e.g., bicycle paths and pedestrian facility construction) and non-infrastructure (e.g., education, encouragement) projects. Applications will be due to Caltrans by…
Read More »The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) this week issued a report on the impacts of expanded eligibility of health insurance in California. PPIC, in light of Governor Newsom’s proposal to expand full-scope Medi-Cal eligibility to all income-eligible residents regardless of immigration status, explored longer-term impacts of the 2014 Medi-Cal expansion in California, with a…
Read More »The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) this week announced it will allow temporary measures imposed during the most recent COVID-19 surge to expire. The move comes as CDPH notes COVID-19 conditions continue to improve across the state and the Omicron surge subsides, including a 65 percent decrease in case rates since the peak of…
Read More »On Thursday, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón issued a State Public Health Officer Order temporarily modifying certain COVID-19 reporting requirements for health care providers and laboratories. Under the order that took effect immediately: Health care providers must report hospitalization and/or death of a patient due…
Read More »On Wednesday, the Senate Rules Committee convened to consider the appointment of Dr. Rohan Radhakrishna as Deputy Director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Office of Health Equity (OHE). Dr. Radhakrishna presented to the committee, discussing his background in a local health department and safety net clinic, as well as his goals and…
Read More »On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced his appointment of Office of Digital Innovation Director Amy Tong to serve as the Secretary of the California Government Operations (GovOps) Agency. Tong has served in her most recent role since earlier this year and was the Director of the California Department of Technology from 2016 and 2021. Tong…
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