• District of Columbia: The U.S. Supreme Court last week ruled that the federal government is required to cover certain healthcare costs for Native American tribes that took over running their own healthcare programs. Previously, HHS asked the Supreme Court to reverse two lower court decisions, which ruled that tribes were entitled to funds to cover the costs of implementing their own healthcare programs. According to HHS, Congress didn't intend for tribes to receive additional funds for healthcare costs. However, the justices ruled 5-4 against HHS, with Chief Justice John Roberts saying that covering these costs is "necessary to prevent a funding gap." Adam Unikowsky, an attorney who represented the Northern Arapaho Tribe, said the Supreme Court's decision puts the tribes on equal footing with the Indian Health Service when it comes to healthcare and will "promote tribal sovereignty and provide resources for healthcare in under-served communities." (Associated Press/MedPage Today, 6/7)
• Maryland: NIH last week announced that it is piloting a new primary care research initiative that aims to improve community-based primary care and include more people from underserved populations in clinical research. Through the initiative, called Communities Advancing Research Equity for Health, or CARE for Health, NIH-funded clinical research networks and primary care sites will partner to conduct studies on health issues that affect local patient populations. The agency plans to award $30 million in funding for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, with initial funding going to organizations serving rural communities. "We must adapt our research to be more inclusive and more responsive to the needs of communities currently underserved in health research," said NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli. "Our vision for CARE for Health is to help primary care providers and their patients contribute to knowledge generation, and to deliver evidence back to them to achieve better care." (Devereaux, Modern Healthcare, 6/7)
• Maryland: FDA last week reversed its 2022 ban on Juul e-cigarettes and said that it's considering updated information from the company for approval of its products. Since the initial ban, Juul's products have remained on shelves pending an appeal, but the decision significantly impacted the company's finances. According to FDA, the decision to reverse Juul's ban doesn't mean that its products will be approved to be marketed to consumers. So far, FDA has only allowed 23 e-cigarette products from three companies to be marketed to consumers. In a statement, Juul said it appreciated FDA's decision and that it looks forward to "re-engaging with the agency on a science- and evidence-based process to pursue a marketing authorization" for its products. "We remain confident in the quality and substance of our applications and believe that a full review of the science and evidence will demonstrate that our products meet the statutory standard of being appropriate for the protection of public health," Juul added. (Wile, NBC News, 6/6)

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