Report

Patient advocacy organizations (PAOs) play a key role in medical product development. Many PAOs raise money to fund medical product development activities – such as basic science research, preclinical research, and clinical trials - for their condition of focus, whereas others fund or develop resources such as biobanks or patient registries to support the research community.

There is ongoing interest in understanding ways to reduce drug prices and improve patient access to prescription drugs in the U.S. The estimated savings to the U.S. healthcare system from the use of biosimilars are significant.

The Fiscal Year (FY) HHS 2026 Evaluation plan includes four (4) evaluations reflecting evidence-building activities in different Operating and Staff Divisions across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The selected evaluations highlight activities that will generate actionable evidence in FY 2026 on priority topics.

To help patients make informed choices about their care, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is improving the quality and accessibility of data needed to determine which treatments and care options work best.

Shifting spending and delivery of long-term services and supports (LTSS) from institutions to the home and community is often referred to as rebalancing. This report and brief describe variation in LTSS rebalancing between 2016 and 2019 by enrollee age, health condition, and demographic factors.

Older adults with behavioral health disorders often experience worse health and functional outcomes, have higher rates of emergency department visits, use more medications, and have higher health care costs than those without a behavioral health disorder. There is need for a greater understanding of the extent to which older adults experience behavioral health disorders.

While the likelihood of needing any long-term services and supports (LTSS) is roughly a coin flip, the cost if one needs assistance for a long period of time can be catastrophic. For example, about one-in-five Americans turning age 65 today will have long-term care costs exceeding $200,000.

The 2025-2028 Draft Action Plan for Addressing Shortages of Medical Products and Critical Foods and Strengthening the Resilience of Medical Product and Critical Food Supply Chains (“Draft Action Plan”) presents coordinated and strategic actions that the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS,” or “Department”) plans to take from 2025 through 2028.

The U.S. supply chain for provider-administered outpatient drugs involves several entities, including drug manufacturers, wholesalers, healthcare providers (e.g., outpatient facilities, hospital pharmacies, doctor’s offices, and standalone clinics), group purchasing organizations (GPOs), payers, and beneficiaries.

The National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) call for a sustainable infrastructure to respond to behavioral health crises, through crisis services that are accessible to anyone, anywhere, at any time.