HHS
HHS Requests Comments on Draft Strategic Plan
The Department of Health and Human Services has invited comments on its draft strategic plan for fiscal years (FY) 2018-2022. The plan describes how the Department plans to advance its mission according to five strategic goals: “(1) Reform, Strengthen, and Modernize the Nation’s Health Care System; (2) Protect the Health of Americans Where They Live, Learn, Work, and Play; (3) Strengthen the Economic and Social Well-Being of Americans across the Lifespan; (4) Foster Sound, Sustained Advances in Sciences; and (5) Promote Effective and Efficient Management and Stewardship.” HHS is accepting comments through October 26, 2017. More information is available in…
HHS Seeks Nominations for New Pain Management Task Force
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is soliciting nominations for members of their new Pain Management Task Force. The Task Force was announced on August 25 by HHS Secretary Tom Price and is charged with developing best practices for prescribing pain medication and managing pain. The Task Force will be a joint effort with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and is seeking membership from diverse disciplines and views, including experts and patients in pain management, addiction, mental health, minority health, and more. Nominations must be received by September 27, 2017. More information can be found in…
NCHS Releases 40th Health, United States Report
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has released the 40th edition of one of its flagship publications, Health, United States, the “report card” on the nation’s health. Health, United States, 2016 compiles federal data on a wide range of topics related to morbidity, mortality, health care utilization and access, health risk factors, prevention, health insurance, and personal health care expenditures. The 2016 edition includes a chartbook that highlights long-term trends over the past 40 years related to infant mortality, leading causes of death, life expectancy, poisoning deaths, and smoking. The complete report is available on the NCHS website. Back…
AHRQ Advisory Committee Seeking Nominations
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is accepting nominations for potential new members of the National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality, the scientific advisory body for AHRQ. Candidates should have experience with “(1) the conduct of research, demonstration projects, and evaluations with respect to health care; (2) the fields of health care quality research or health care improvement; (3) the practice of medicine; (4) other health professions; (5) representing the private health care sector (including health plans, providers, and purchasers) or administrators of health care delivery systems; (6) the fields of health care economics, information systems,…
Health and Human Services Solicits Comments on Healthy People 2030
Every decade, the Healthy People Initiative, part of the Office of Disease Prevention and Promotion of the Department of Health and Human Services, develops a new set of science-based national objectives with the goal of improving the health of all Americans. The Department has started to solicit written comments on the development of Healthy People 2030. Comments are sought on the framework, vision, mission, and overarching goals of the initiative. Comments must be submitted by September 29, 2017. The full solicitation can be found here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services Seeks Members
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking seven non-Federal members for the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services. The 22-member Council consists of 12 non-federal members who fall within six categories: dementia caregivers; health care providers; researchers with dementia-related expertise in basic, translational, clinical, or drug development science; voluntary health association representatives; representatives of state health departments; and dementia patient advocates, including an advocate currently living with the disease. Nominations are due June 16, 2017. For more information, see the announcement. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
HHS Secretary Appears Before House Appropriations Subcommittee, Suggests NIH Budget Cuts to Come From “Efficiencies” in Indirect Costs
On March 29, newly appointed Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) former Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) made his first appearance before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. Welcoming the Secretary, Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) began the hearing by pointing out that the proposed cuts in the Budget Blueprint (aka “skinny budget”) released by the Administration on March 16 “are extensive and span the reach of [the] agency.” Cole asked Price how the Department intends to solve “some of the challenges” the budget poses to HHS, including…
Tom Price Confirmed as Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services
Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), an orthopedic surgeon and a six-term member of the House of Representatives, was confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) by a party-line vote of 52 to 47 in the late hours of February 10. Price, who most recently served as chair of the House Budget Committee, is fiscally conservative and is considered a stern foe of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and abortion rights. However, he has been mostly supportive of increasing funding for federal research agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, which is one of the agencies under HHS’ jurisdiction. Rep….
HHS Seeks Members for Healthy People 2030 Advisory Body
On March 17, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it is establishing the “Secretary’s Advisory Committee on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for 2030 (Committee)” and is inviting nominations for membership. In 1979, HHS created Healthy People, an initiative “grounded in the notion that setting science-based, measurable objectives and monitoring progress can motivate action.” The new Committee is expected to provide relevant and objective advice around health determinants and risk factors. It will perform the “single, time-limited task” of providing advice regarding creating Healthy People 2030 and advise the HHS Secretary on the Healthy…
HHS Seeks Comments on New Objectives Proposed For Healthy People 2020
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking comments on the proposed new objectives for Healthy People 2020. The Department intends to use the comments to “shape the framework, objectives, and targets” of the initiative. Comments are being sought in the areas of family planning; preparedness; social determinants of health; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health. Additionally, the Department invites suggestions of “additional objectives for consideration that address critical public health issues within the existing 42 topic areas of Healthy People 2020.” Comments will be accepted through November 13, 2015. More information is available here. Back to…
Public Comment Period for Healthy People 2020 Open through November 7
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is soliciting written comments regarding new objectives proposed to be added to Healthy People 2020. The previous public comment period occurred in fall 2013.