Update: What We’re Watching, Aug. 6, 2026

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Update: What We're Watching, Aug. 6, 2026

Hill to the Heartland: Federal Health Policy Briefing

Hill to the Heartland: Federal Health Policy Briefing is a product series providing regular updates on federal health policy discussions. Sign up here to receive these summaries and more, and also follow KHI on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is ending a Medicare Part D demonstration program and has proposed a rule implementing restrictions on Medicaid provider taxes enacted in H.R. 1. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is seeking emergency department patient records from hospitals nationwide, drawing questions about patient privacy and legal authority.

Here is some of the health-related news we are watching that could have an impact on Kansas.

The views expressed in the following news stories, news releases or documents are not necessarily those of the Kansas Health Institute (KHI). They are being shared with the intent of keeping Kansans informed of the latest developments related to federal health policy.

1. CMS to End Medicare Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration in 2027

On July 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it would end the temporary Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration, first implemented in calendar year (CY) 2025, at the end of CY 2026. The demonstration was designed to stabilize premiums and enrollment in Medicare stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) following changes to the Part D benefit enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. For 2025, the demonstration reduced the base beneficiary premium by $15, and the monthly premium increase was limited to $35. For 2026, the base beneficiary premium was reduced by $10, and the monthly premium increase was limited to $50. Enrollment in PDPs also increased from 22.8 million in 2024 to 24.9 million in 2026. When announcing the end of the demonstration, which was originally scheduled to continue through CY 2027, CMS stated that PDP sponsors (insurers) have gained sufficient experience with the redesigned Part D benefits to accurately develop their premiums for 2027 without the subsidy. Some policy experts have expressed concerns about large premium increases in 2027 for some beneficiaries, while CMS has stated it expects the financial impact on Medicare beneficiaries to be minimal, and that most beneficiaries will see less than a $10 per month increase. Information about next year's premiums will be released in September.

Read the CMS announcement: Annual Release of Part D National Average Monthly Bid Amount and Other Part C & D Bid Information

Read more from The Hill: Trump administration ending Medicare premium subsidy program

Read more from KFF: CMS's Decision to End Temporary Subsidies to Medicare's Stand-Alone Drug Plans Could Mean Larger Premium Increases for Some Beneficiaries Next Year

Read more from AP News: The Trump administration is ending a Medicare drug subsidy program.

2. Consumer Product Safety Commission is Seeking Emergency Department Patient Records from Hospitals Nationwide

On July 22, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the federal agency responsible for tracking injuries and issuing recalls and safety warnings on dangerous consumer products, such as infant toys, furniture, home appliances and tools, announced it is modernizing its decades-old National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). The CPSC contracted in 2025 with KONZA Health, a Kansas-based organization that operates health information exchanges in Kansas and other states, to collect and analyze emergency department records of patient visits, including patients' identifiable information, such as names, addresses, diagnoses and other personal details, from hospitals nationwide. KFF Health News reported that CPSC proposes to collect data from an additional 100 hospitals by the end of 2026. Emergency departments that already participate in the existing voluntary NEISS, including two Kansas hospitals, submit reports involving consumer products that almost always contain no patients' identifiable information, which is consistent with CPSC's current operating manual that specifically instructs hospitals not to include patients' identifiable information.

In the July 22 announcement, the agency stated that the modernized system, NEISS-R - will "expand nationwide coverage, accelerate hazard detection and strengthen privacy protections." However, hospital executives and legal experts have raised questions about the agency's legal authority to require participation, whether sharing identifiable patient data complies with federal privacy law and whether CPSC will follow required legal procedures, including a mandatory public notice and comment period.

Read the press release from CPSC: CPSC Modernizes Decades-Old Injury Surveillance System to Protect More Americans, Faster

Read more from KFF: Trump Administration Demands Hospitals Share Emergency Room Records

3. Federal Judge Blocks Pieces of 2027 Exchange Rule

A federal judge in Maryland temporarily blocked eight provisions of a recently finalized rule that was set to begin on July 20 that would change how Affordable Care Act marketplace plans operate. The blocked provisions primarily relate to eligibility verification requirements, catastrophic plan eligibility, network adequacy, plan design standards and cost-sharing limits. A coalition of cities, counties and physician/small business organizations sued in June, arguing that the provisions would create barriers to coverage rather than reduce them.

Note: KHI will be publishing a deeper dive on the rule in August.

Read the final rule: HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2027 Final Rule

Read the court ruling: City of Columbus et al. v. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. et al.

Read more from the Healthcare Financial Management Association: Judge blocks key ACA marketplace rule provisions for 2027

4. CMS Proposes Rule Limiting Provider Taxes That Help Fund Medicaid

On July 21, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a proposed rule that would implement provisions of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, related to how states use health care related taxes to finance their share of Medicaid expenditures. Nearly all states, including Kansas, use provider taxes to help fund the state's share of Medicaid payments. For Kansas and other states that have not expanded Medicaid, the proposed rule would freeze provider taxes at the levels that were in place as of July 4, 2025, effectively prohibiting new taxes or increases going forward, and would create new, more detailed quarterly reporting requirements. Caps on provider tax rates will be lowered over time in expansion states. CMS estimates the rule would reduce federal Medicaid expenditures by approximately $246 billion over 10 years. Public comments are due Sept. 21, 2026.

Read the press release from CMS: Amending the Indirect Hold Harmless Threshold of Health Care-Related Taxes Proposed Rule (CMS-2452-P)

Read the proposed rule: Medicaid Program; Amending the Indirect Hold Harmless Threshold of Health Care-Related Taxes

Read more from KHI: Impacts of the OBBBA on Medicaid and CHIP in Kansas

Read more from Healthcare Dive: CMS moves to codify limits on Medicaid provider taxes

5. Federal Health Research Agency Cancels Dozens of Active Grants

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has canceled continuation funding for more than 116 active grants, affecting an estimated $139.6 million in previously committed funds across research areas including patient safety, antibiotic resistance, chronic disease management and health care workforce training, reported as of Aug. 6. The cancellations follow more than a year of staffing reductions that have left the agency with roughly 20 percent of its prior workforce and no new grant opportunities. A career development grant at the University of Kansas Medical Center, focused on equity-informed quality improvement measures in primary care, was among those terminated. Congress appropriated $345 million for AHRQ in the current fiscal year. Advocacy organizations, such as AcademyHealth and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences (FABBS), have raised questions about whether withholding those funds is consistent with federal law.

Read more from AcademyHealth: AHRQ Has Begun Canceling Research Grants. Here's What We Know.

Read more from FABBS: Another Round of Grant Terminations at AHRQ

Read the list of terminated grants: Research Interrupted

Stay tuned for further updates on policy shifts that may affect health programs and services in Kansas. For related work on how federal policies could impact Kansans, please check out Hill to the Heartland.