Robert E. Wanerman, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in Health Payer Specialist, in “Payers to Lose Clear Communication Channel with Repeal of HHS Public Comment Period,” by Ron Shinkman.
Following is an excerpt:
The soliciting of public comments from individuals, professions and trade associations has often played a key role in terms of what rules will look like in their final form, and the proposed change came as a surprise to many policy experts.
Robert Wanerman, a member of the law rm of Epstein Becker Green in Washington, D.C., noted that Kennedy had given a talk at HHS headquarters just a few days before issuing the repeal that focused on the agency being more transparent.
"This contrasts with a policy of transparency," he said. …
Wanerman noted that entities involved with the Medicare program likely have less to be concerned about with the repeal, but those involved in Medicaid – which will be impacted by the repeal of the waiver – have grounds for concern. "We don't know how much tinkering is going to occur with the Medicaid program," he said.
