G2G Bio Bulletin – August 17, 2026

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has written two letters to HHS Secretary Kennedy seeking answers on:
  • The Administration’s response to the cyclosporiasis outbreak, and if elements of the response were influenced by the relationships between the Trump Administration and the Taylor Farms group.
  • The deals signed with drug companies to list their products on TrumpRx, in an effort to challenge the Administration’s assertion that the platform has saved consumers $700 M.

Administration & Agencies:

• CMS: A federal court struck down federal rules on the Qualifying Payment Amount (QPA), that guides how much insurers pay out-of-network providers. Insurers can no longer include artificially low ghost rates for services not performed, or exclude bonus payments from the QPA calculation. The QPA provisions are central to the No Surprises Act, which is intended prevent patients from receiving unexpected bills for medical services they received from out-of-network providers.
• NIH: The agency posted a request for information (RFI), on proposed changes to reporting outcomes from peer review. The core of the change is to stop reporting numerical impact scores and replace them with three impact categories - Most Competitive (top 25% score), Competitive (26-50% score), and not discussed (greater than 50% score). Public comment is being accepted until October 13.
• White House, Other HHS Agencies & Departments: 
  • Tariffs: The White House released a document identifying 40 countries that it alleges are serving as transshipment corridors for Chinese products to evade US tariffs.
  • Vaccines: On Monday the President issued an Executive Order (EO) that attempts to dramatically remake the childhood vaccination schedule. Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) condemned the EO, noting the lack of medical expertise in devising its provisions, and expressed confidence that the new CDC Director Erica Schwartz would ignore it. Vaccine manufacturers have reasserted the safety of their products, and legal challenges to the EO are expected. Its key components include:
    • Reduction in the number of recommended childhood immunizations from 18 to 11, and spreading out of doses
    • Ensuring that immunizations no longer recommended still be available
    • Separation the combined MMR vaccine into three single-disease shots
    • The HHS Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines is to present a plan to improve vaccine research and provide options to parents - the study of alternative adjuvants to aluminum is highlighted as a priority
    • The Attorney General is instructed take action against states that have limited exemptions to childhood vaccination requirements.