WASHINGTON, June 14 -- Allina Health, an integrated health system headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has presented detailed feedback to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding the Fiscal Year 2027 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule. The extensive public comment letter submitted to the agency addresses a wide range of topics including payment updates, quality program modifications, accountable care models, provider-based location criteria, and   more

WASHINGTON, June 14 -- The American Academy of Neurology, Minneapolis, Minnesota, has submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the agency's proposed rule to improve patient protections and interoperability standards for prior authorization of drugs in Medicare Advantage, Medicaid Managed Care Plans, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies, and Qualified Health Plans (QHP) on Federally-facilitated Exchanges. The letter addresses  more

WASHINGTON, June 14 -- CODE Technology, Edina, Minnesota, provided a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding the continued use of the Hospital-Level Total Hip and/or Total Knee Arthroplasty Patient-Reported Outcome-Based Performance Measure (THA/TKA PRO-PM). The company advocates for expanding the measure cohort to include Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in addition to fee-for-service patients across the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Expanded (  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- Francis Medical, a Maple Grove, Minnesota-based developer of urological cancer treatments, has submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expressing concerns about the agency's proposed rule to repeal alternative payment pathways for innovative medical technologies. The proposal, outlined in the 2027 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Proposed Rule, seeks to eliminate the alternative method allowing FDA Brea  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) addressing the agency's proposed rule on Medicare Program changes affecting Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (IPPS) for acute care hospitals and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System for Fiscal Year 2027. The communication, written by Rachel A. Lindor, chair of Revenue Cycle Compliance Subcommittee and associate profess  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- Medtronic, a leading medical technology company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding the agency's proposed rule on hospital inpatient prospective payment systems for fiscal year 2027. The letter expresses disappointment with CMS's proposal to repeal the New Technology Add-on Payment (NTAP) and Outpatient Prospective Payment System device pass-through alternative pathways for FDA  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, June 9 -- Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party issued the following news release: * * * GOP Candidates for Governor Silent on Housing; Klobuchar Proposes Plan to Lower Housing Costs and Tackle 100,000 Home Shortage in Minnesota The Republican candidates for Governor continue to offer zero solutions to address the issue of housing affordability that is facing Minnesota families. Yesterday, their silence was put in stark contrast as Senator Amy Klobuchar released a com  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- The Minnesota Hospital Association, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, has submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services addressing the agency's proposed fiscal year 2027 rule on hospital inpatient prospective payment systems and related policy changes. The letter highlights critical concerns regarding payment updates, rural hospital provisions, interoperability policies, and quality reporting measures that directly affect Minnesota's 139 mem  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- North Memorial Health, a nonprofit health system based in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services addressing proposed changes in the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Fiscal Year 2027. The letter highlights concerns over payment updates and quality reporting measures that impact hospitals' financial sustainability and operational capacity. The health system emphasized that Medicare and Medi  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- Sajan Pandya, regulatory affairs specialist at Encore Medical Inc., Eagan, Minnesota, has submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding the final guidance on investigator responsibilities for safety reporting of investigational drugs and devices. Pandya highlighted a critical operational gap in the guidance issued in December 2025 under Docket No. FDA-2021-D-0368. The guidance clearly defines what investigators must report, including  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- The Public Health Law Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding the agency's proposed rule to advance contaminants for the sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 6). The Center, which supports public health improvement through law and policy, urged the EPA to give further consideration and take regulatory action on nicotine and microplastics as contaminants of concern in drinking water. The Publ  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- The Public Health Law Center (PHLC), based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, has submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressing strong opposition to the agency's proposed amendments to the Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System rule concerning coal combustion residuals (coal ash) disposal. PHLC condemned the proposal for undermining essential federal safeguards designed to protect public health, groundwater resources, and vulner  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- The Water Protector Legal Collective, an Indigenous-led nonprofit headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concerning the agency's proposed rule on drinking water contaminants and the draft Sixth Contaminant Candidate List. The organization praised the EPA's efforts to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and microplastics but stressed the need for more precautionary and equitable m  more