WASHINGTON, June 12 -- A group of 31 advocacy organizations have submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency addressing the agency's draft Sixth Contaminant Candidate List. The collective advocates for the inclusion of microplastics not only on the CCL-6 but also on the forthcoming Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, emphasizing the urgent need for data collection and regulatory action to address microplastic contamination in drinking water. The groups, representing a broad coalition of environmental, pub more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois, has submitted public comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services addressing the Fiscal Year 2027 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule. The organization advocates for voluntary participation and highlights concerns with proposed expansions, payment methodologies, and quality measures in these Medicare payment reforms. AAOS opposes mandatory participation in alternative payment models, urging  more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- Carecube Inc., Arden Hills, Minnesota, has submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding the proposed Fiscal Year 2027 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) rule. The letter addresses hospital payment policies for isolation care technologies and proposes new Medicare payment pathways for the company's deployable airborne infection isolation unit, the Carecube. Caremade to convert any hospital patient space into a CDC-compliant airborne infection isolation roo more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- The Combination Products Coalition submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration addressing the agency's final guidance on Clinical Decision Support software. The coalition, representing leading drug, biological product, and medical device manufacturers involved in combination products, offered detailed feedback aimed at refining the agency's regulatory approach and enhancing clarity for industry stakeholders. The letter emphasized the importance of leveraging the FDA's Digital Health Center  more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- The Cooperative Credit Union Association Inc., Marlborough, Massachusetts, submitted a public comment letter to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The letter addresses FinCEN's proposed rule titled Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Programs, intended to implement the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. The Association expressed support for FinCEN's efforts to reform the regulatory framework governing financial institutions' anti-money la more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- The Dialysis Vascular Access Coalition, representing physician societies and provider organizations focused on vascular access care in Kansas City, Missouri, submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding the FY 2027 Inpatient Prospective Payment System and Long-Term Care Hospital proposed rule. The Coalition expressed concern about the proposed elimination of the alternative New Technology Add-On Payment and Transitional Pass-Through pathways for FDA-designated Breakthrough De more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- Thomas A. Owens, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Duke University Health System and associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services supporting the agency's effort to expand adoption of Unique Device Identifiers for medical devices while urging greater flexibility in how hospitals capture and exchange the data. The health system described its comprehensive c more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- Equitas Health, a federally qualified health center headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, has submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development opposing the proposed revisions to the Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs rule. The organization, which provides healthcare to tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals and people living with HIV/AIDS annually, expresses serious concerns about the potential negative impacts of rescinding current protections against discrimination based on gend more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- Friends of Animals, Greenwood Village, Colorado, has submitted a public comment letter to the Fish and Wildlife Service regarding permit applications for importing three live captive-born pygmy chimpanzees, also known as bonobos, from Belgium. The group raised concerns over inconsistencies in permit descriptions and lack of clarity about the purpose of the proposed import, hindering meaningful public evaluation of the applications associated with Midwestern University and Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Friends of Animals emp more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- Chris Harper, director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, submitted a public comment letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service urging the agency to maintain existing seasonal vessel speed restrictions for North Atlantic right whales unless alternative technology-based measures can be shown to provide equivalent protection, broad adoption and enforceability. The Georgia Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) reviewed the 2026 ANPR, which seeks information on possibl more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- Alan M. Altman, assistant clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration urging the agency to maintain the availability of ESTRATEST and ESTRATEST H.S. Tablets, arguing that estrogen-androgen combination therapy serves an important and growing population of peri- and postmenopausal women. Altman emphasized that estrogen and androgen combination therapy has been used for over  more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, Boston, has expressed opposition to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's proposed rule revisions concerning Equal Access to Housing in HUD programs. The public comment letter from MTPC criticizes the changes for permitting shelters to discriminate based on gender identity and sexual orientation, urging HUD to withdraw the proposal entirely. MTPC highlighted the disproportionate impact on transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals, who experience h more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- McKay Consulting Inc., Shreveport, Louisiana, submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding the agency's proposed rule for the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Fiscal Year 2027. The consulting firm, which advises numerous inpatient hospitals on Medicare reimbursement matters, highlighted two longstanding errors embedded in the standardized amount used to calculate hospital payments under IPPS. First, the firm pointed out that the original transfer/discharg more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- Medical Information Technology Inc., Westwood, Massachusetts, provided its public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The letter focuses on interoperability standards and prior authorization processes under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Federally-Facilitated Exchanges. Meditech recommends that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services adopt the 2.2.n versions of the Da Vinci Burden Reduction Implementation Guides for prior authori more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- The National Association of Home Builders and National Association of Realtors have submitted public comment letters to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of War regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council Final Report. These groups emphasize the importance of maintaining a robust federal role in disaster response while pursuing reauthorization and reform of the National Flood Insurance Program. The associations support FEMA's efforts to strengthen operational effectiven more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- The National Coalition of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Advocates, Portland, Oregon, has submitted a public comment letter to the Social Security Administration regarding proposed changes to information collection activities. The coalition comprises over five hundred advocates from nonprofit legal services and aging or disability advocacy organizations nationwide who have raised multiple concerns about the underestimation of time burdens associated with various SSA forms and procedures. The coalition t more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- The National Organization of Rheumatology Management, Westtown, Pennsylvania, submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services concerning the Interoperability Standards and Prior Authorization for Drugs proposed rule. NORM expressed support for efforts to improve electronic prior authorization processes but emphasized ongoing administrative burdens faced by rheumatology practices managing therapies across both medical and pharmacy benefit structures. The organization noted that current  more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- Nuclear Communities LLC, Chicago, Illinois, has urged the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to broaden its regulatory analysis of the proposed licensing requirements for microreactors and other reactors with comparable risk profiles. The organization emphasizes that while the proposed rulemaking addresses direct licensees, it overlooks the impacts on small businesses within host communities that will support these advanced nuclear projects. The proposed Part 57 of NRC regulations allows for streamlined applications for  more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- Jane Freedman, deputy CEO and chief health system officer of Vanderbilt Health, Nashville, Tennessee, submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding the agency's fiscal year 2027 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule, urging revisions to hospital payment rates, withdrawal of proposed organ transplant cost-allocation changes, and modifications to several quality reporting and interoperability policies. In its commentary, Vanderbilt Health highlighted the more ST

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- Waterkeepers Chesapeake, a nonprofit coalition based in Takoma Park, Maryland, has submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expressing concern over the agency's approach to regulating emerging drinking water contaminants. The coalition advocates for stronger, enforceable protections in response to the EPA's Draft Contaminant Candidate List 6, which includes per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and microplastics. Waterkeepers Chesapeake highlights the pervasive presence of PFAS and micr more ST