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This brief provides an overview of the role of PBMs in managing pharmacy benefits, discusses federal efforts to reform certain PBM business practices, and explains the estimated federal budgetary impact of the recently enacted legislation, which would be a reduction in the federal deficit of $2.1 billion over 10 years, according to CBO.
Starting in May of last year, HHS Secretary Kennedy and the CDC/ACIP began to make changes to the federal vaccine schedule for children, culminating in an announcement on January 5 of this year with the most wide-ranging changes to date. This policy brief tracks the number of states that have announced they are no longer following federal government recommendations for childhood vaccines as of January 20, 2026.
The updated federal alcohol guidelines simply advise adults to “consume less for better overall health” without specifying limits – a change that could portend a renewed rise in alcohol-related deaths.
This brief looks at newly announced changes by HHS to the pediatric vaccination schedule, which reduce the number of vaccines recommended for all children. Implications of these changes for childhood vaccination rates and trust in public health are discussed.
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