Federal news
The Great Undoing: Which of Trump’s [Health] Policies Will Biden Reverse? [Kaiser Health News, 4/14/2021]
- Latest action: On April 14, HHS proposed new regulations that would return the Title X family planning program to the policies in effect pre-Trump.
Biden’s first budget request goes big on science [Science, 4/9/2021]
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would grow by $9 billion, to $51 billion. That total includes $6.5 billion for a new entity, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health (ARPA-H), that would initially focus on research into cancer and other diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
- A $10 million NIH office funding research on climate change and human health would mushroom to $110 million. (A similar office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] would also get a $100 million boost, to $110 million.) And Biden says he would double current spending on gun violence research at NIH and CDC, but provides no specific numbers.
- CDC would get a $1.6 billion increase to $8.7 billion, which the White House claims is “the largest budget authority increase [for the agency] in nearly two decades.”
A yearslong push to ban hair discrimination is gaining momentum [PBS NewsHour, 3/30/21]
House reshapes approach to mental health and addiction [Roll Call, 3/16/2021]
Take Action: Ask your reps to support Build America’s Libraries Act [ALA]
State news
Looking for a podcast to keep you up to date on the latest legislative issues in Illinois? Try State Week from NPR Illinois.
HB 158 has been sent to the Governor. HB158 has a lot in it so here is a summary from Legiscan: “Creates the Community Health Worker Certification and Reimbursement Act. Amends various Acts regarding medical staff credentials; electronic posters and signs; N95 masks; Legionella bacteria testing; continuing education on implicit bias awareness; overdoses; the Prescription Monitoring Program; a dementia training program; taxation of blood sugar testing materials; funding of safety-net hospitals; a Child Care Assistance Program Eligibility Calculator; managed care organizations; Federally Qualified Health Centers; care coordination; billing; the Medicaid Business Opportunity Commission; reimbursement rates; doula services; personal care of family members; the State Health Assessment; the State Health Improvement Plan; child care training; and a Medicaid Managed Care Oversight Commission. Creates the Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center of Illinois Act. Creates the Underlying Causes of Crime and Violence Study Act. Creates the Special Commission on Gynecologic Cancer Act. Creates the Racial Impact Note Act to require the estimate of the impact on racial and ethnic minorities of certain bills. Creates the Health and Human Services Task Force and Study Act to review health and human service departments and programs. Creates the Anti-Racism Commission Act concerning elimination of systemic racism. Creates the Sickle Cell Prevention, Care, and Treatment Program Act regarding programs and other matters. Amends the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act in relation to the Health Facilities and Services Review Board, facility closure, and other matters. Creates the Medicaid Technical Assistance Act. Repeals, adds, and changes other provisions. Effective immediately.”