HHS’ New 340B Rebate Model Request for Information
This morning, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a request for information (RFI) on the potential use of 340B rebates, the standards and procedures that should govern the approval of manufacturer rebate plans, and the impacts on all stakeholders. 

IHA encourages all hospitals that would be impacted by a 340B rebate model to begin gathering information and preparing comments responsive to the RFI, especially about the costs and administrative burdens that a 340B rebate model would impose on them. 

Comments are due to HRSA no later than March 19, 2026, and may be submitted here.

Congressional Letter Urges Dept. of Homeland Security to Waive $100K H-1B Fee 
This week, members of Congress sent a bipartisan letter to the Dept. of Homeland Security, urging the agency to grant healthcare workers an exemption from the $100,000 filing fee for H-1B visas, according to an alert from the American Hospital Association. 

The letter, led by Representatives Yvette D. Clarke, D-N.Y., and Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., was signed by 100 lawmakers. “Imposing a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa petitions will exacerbate hospitals’ existing staffing challenges and could push chronically underfunded hospitals to their financial brink,” the legislators wrote. “If these hospitals cannot petition for new H-1B visas to address their staffing needs without also having to pay this fee, it will further damage their financial viability. Critically needed open positions will simply go unfilled, leaving rural and high-poverty urban areas without adequate access to care.” 

The letter also says that healthcare providers rely on international workers for critical roles, including physicians, clinical laboratory staff and other specialists.

To view the letter, click here. 

IDPH Responds to Federal Funding Cuts for Public Health Departments
Yesterday, the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) announced that the Trump administration has cut $100 million in critical funding for local public health departments, and for HIV prevention and monitoring, chronic disease surveys, and more. 

On Wednesday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul led attorneys general from California, Colorado and Minnesota in suing the Trump administration over the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) directive to “unlawfully cut more than $600 million in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grants,” according to a news release. According to IDPH, the programs impacted by the cuts include:

• The Public Health Infrastructure Grant, which provides funding for workforce development, data modernization, support for local health departments and other essential public health initiatives.

• The Illinois Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which collects information on the behaviors and conditions related to the leading causes of death for Illinoisans, allowing for more targeted intervention.

• The State Injury Prevention Program, which works to identify and, where possible, prevent conditions that lead to violence, injury, and death.

• The HIV Medical Monitoring Project, which tracks essential information about persons living with HIV in Illinois in areas such as housing, insurance, medication, and access to care, information which allows for better planning of HIV services and targeting of resources where they are most needed.

• HIV Prevention and Surveillance, which includes programs to expand HIV testing to cover more people who may not be aware they have HIV; linking newly-diagnosed patients to appropriate care; expanding access to PrEP, medication which can reduce the spread of HIV; and conducting partner notification.

FDA Approves Labeling Changes to Menopausal Hormone Therapy Products
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved drug labeling changes to six menopausal hormone therapy products, also known as hormone replacement therapy (HRT), to clarify risk considerations for these drugs, according to a news release. Specifically, risk statements related to cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and probable dementia were removed from the “boxed warning,” the agency’s most prominent safety-related warning, the announcement said. 

The FDA initiated the removal of these warnings in November 2025, following a comprehensive review of the scientific literature. At the FDA’s request, 29 drug companies have submitted proposed labeling changes. This first batch of six products with approved labeling changes includes products from each of the four categories of HRT for menopausal women:

• Systemic combination therapy (estrogen and progestogen)

• Systemic estrogen-alone therapy

• Systemic progestogen-alone therapy for women with a uterus using systemic estrogen

• Topical vaginal estrogen therapy

To view the drug labels and learn more about the benefits and risks for these products, click here.