CMS' Office of the Actuary projects that national health expenditures will grow an average of 5.4% per year from between 2022 to 2031, eventually reaching $7.2 trillion, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia and Maryland.

• District of Columbia: President Biden on Friday announced that Mandy Cohen, a physician and former North Carolina health secretary, will be CDC's next leader. "Dr. Cohen is one of the nation's top physicians and health leaders with experience leading large and complex organizations, and a proven track-record protecting Americans' health and safety," Biden said. Cohen will replace outgoing CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, whose last day at the agency is June 30. Walensky has praised Cohen's leadership and accomplishments, asserting that her experience makes her well-suited for the role. "I can think of no better hands in which to leave this agency during a critical time in its history," Walensky said. "I wish Dr. Cohen and the dedicated people of CDC strength and the brightest successes in the next chapter." (Weixel, The Hill, 6/16; Firth/Frieden, MedPage Today, 6/16; Huang, "Shots," NPR, 6/16)
• District of Columbia: In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the right of Medicaid beneficiaries to sue state agencies they accuse of breaking federal law. The ruling upholds a 2021 U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit decision and overturns an earlier ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana that challenged this precedent. The case involved the family of Gorgi Talevski, a now-deceased former resident of a nursing home operated by the Health and Hospital Corp. of Marion County. Talevski's family argued the nursing home inappropriately medicated and discharged him to an alternative facility, violating the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987. While patient advocates and rights groups have praised the decision, leaders in the nursing home industry have expressed disappointment. According to James Segroves, a partner at Reed Smith and legal counsel for the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, the Supreme Court's ruling "is disheartening to the hundreds of government-owned and operated nursing homes." (Robinson/Pugh, Bloomberg Law, 6/8; Tepper, Modern Healthcare, 6/8)
• Maryland: CMS' Office of the Actuary projects that national health expenditures will grow an average of 5.4% per year between 2022 to 2031, eventually reaching $7.2 trillion and accounting for 19.6% of the nation's GDP. In 2022, healthcare spending hit an estimated $4.4 trillion — a 4.3% increase from the year before. By 2031, the private sector is expected to finance 51% of healthcare expenditures, with the remainder financed by the government. According to Sean Keehan, an economist in CMS' Office of the Actuary, recent legislation and other economic conditions are expected to influence health insurance enrollment and healthcare spending trends over the next 10 years. "Altogether, and consistent with its past trend, health spending for the next ten years is expected to grow more rapidly, on average, than the overall economy," he said. (Condon, Becker's Hospital CFO Report, 6/14; Turner, Modern Healthcare, 6/14)