🦅 Executive Branch |
Federal Register |
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The FDA has canceled (withdrawn) a planned rule, first proposed on December 27, 2024, that would have required makers of talc-containing cosmetics to test the talc or the finished product for asbestos and keep records; this withdrawal took effect on November 28, 2025, so there is no current testing or recordkeeping duty from that proposal and no compliance deadline yet. The rule would have applied to all manufacturers of talc-containing cosmetic products (including some products that are also regulated as drugs), and FDA said any amount of asbestos would have made a product legally unsafe (called “adulterated”) under the law. This matters because asbestos is a dangerous mineral linked to cancer and other illnesses, so the testing rules were meant to help keep makeup and other talc products safer; FDA says it will issue a new proposed rule later to meet the 2022 law that requires these tests. Read full document →
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This document fixes small but important mistakes in the Medicare rule for 2026 that tells Medicare how much to pay for skin substitute products (materials used to heal wounds); it clarifies that these products are treated as “biological products” (not “drug or biological product”), corrects a web reference and some wording about an “initial proposed payment rate,” and sets the final payment at $127.14 per square centimeter for CY 2026; the corrections take effect November 28, 2025. Doctors, hospitals, suppliers, and manufacturers who bill Medicare for skin substitutes must follow the corrected wording and the $127.14/cm2 payment for the 2026 payment year starting now. This matters because it changes the official payment amount Medicare will use for these wound-care products, which can affect what providers are paid and what patients and taxpayers ultimately pay. Read full document →
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The Department of the Interior changed a federal rule (30 CFR 870.13) to remove old coal-fee rates that applied to coal produced from October 1, 2012, through September 30, 2021, and to keep the new fee schedule that applies to coal produced from October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2034; the change becomes final on January 27, 2026 unless strong objections are filed by December 29, 2025. Coal producers and mining companies that sell, transfer, or use coal must follow the fees in the rule: surface-mined coal pays 22.4 cents per ton if the coal’s value is $2.24/ton or more (otherwise 10% of value); underground coal pays 9.6 cents per ton if value is $0.96/ton or more (otherwise 10% of value); lignite pays 6.4 cents per ton if value is $3.20/ton or more (otherwise 2% of value); and in‑situ mining pays 9.6 cents per ton for non‑lignite and 6.4 cents per ton for lignite based on heat value certified by a lab. This matters because these fees fund the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund used to clean old mines and can change costs for coal companies, which may affect local jobs and energy prices for the public. Read full document →
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CMS is proposing a rule to update Medicare Advantage (Part C) and Medicare drug plans (Part D) so the law changes from the Inflation Reduction Act are written into the rules. Key changes are: the old “coverage gap” ends and the Coverage Gap Discount Program stopped on January 1, 2025; drug makers must give discounts at the pharmacy under a new Manufacturer Discount Program starting January 1, 2025; people have an out‑of‑pocket cap of $2,000 in 2025 (it rose to $2,100 in 2026) so they pay nothing for covered drugs once they reach that limit; and other payment and reporting rules are set. Who must follow these rules: drug makers, Medicare drug plans (Part D sponsors), and Medicare Advantage plans; some marketing rules take effect for the contract year 2027 (starting October 1, 2026). CMS is taking public comments on the proposal through January 26, 2026. This matters because it directly lowers what many people pay for medicines, changes who pays at the pharmacy, and affects what plans cover and how much they charge. Read full document →
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