By DAVID J. DAVIDSON
Dickinson Wright

2025 was a busy year for federal health law, with several major laws, regulations, and policy changes. Many of these will still be relevant in 2026. The following is a brief overview of the most significant developments and what they may mean going forward.

1. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA)

The OBBBA was a comprehensive reconciliation bill enacted in mid-2025.  The law includes noteworthy changes to federal health policy, including changes to Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The law addresses health coverage and federal program integrity, along with new eligibility and verification requirements for ACA marketplace enrollment.  The phasing out of enhanced [Read More]

Lansing Lines is presented in cooperation with MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.

A Little Fire Smoldering Over Surgical Smoke

The House Health Policy Committee watched a demonstration last month showing how quickly surgical smoke can accumulate when a cautery device is used without a smoke evacuation system.

The presentation accompanied testimony on HB 4779 , which would require health facilities performing smoke-producing procedures to develop and implement a policy to clear the air of these surgical areas.

During the demonstration, a representative from the medical device company Stryker used a Bovie cautery device inside a sealed container to simulate what occurs in an operating room when tissue is cut or blood vessels [Read More]

The Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) blasted Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers for his perceived position on healthcare Tuesday, framing it as supportive of the insurance premium hikes that thousands of Americans are encountering early this year.

In a virtual press conference, Michigan Democrats deployed what’s proved to be a salient line of attack for the party as it approaches the 2026 midterms, saying rising health insurance costs are now factoring into a broader “affordability crisis.” Furthermore, speakers took a populist tone, accusing Rogers of being “out of touch” with such economic hardships, given his wealth.

“He’s someone who supports Medicaid cuts while he lives up in his Florida mansion,” said MDP Chair [Read More]

The flu, COVID-19 and other seasonal viruses have smashed into state residents, and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases have surged as vaccination rates continue to plummet in the state.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reported the end of December saw very high activity of influenza cases that were among the nation’s highest. The state saw an 11.3% increase with a total of 13,568 patients going to the hospital with flu-like symptoms.

“Flu is not a mild illness for many children. Every year, children become seriously ill from flu complications that really could have been prevented by vaccination. Some of these children require intensive care, and children and adolescents who [Read More]

By MARTHA BEBINGER

Inside a cancer research laboratory on the campus of Harvard Medical School, two dozen small jars with pink plastic lids sat on a metal counter. Inside these humble-looking jars is the core of Joan Brugge’s current multiyear research project.

Brugge lifted up one of the jars and gazed at it with reverence. Each jar holds samples of breast tissue donated by patients after they underwent a tissue biopsy or breast surgery — samples that may reveal a new way to prevent breast cancer.

Brugge and her research team have analyzed the cell structure of more than 100 samples.

Using high-powered microscopes and complex computer algorithms, they diagram each stage in the [Read More]

By KATHLEEN CAMPBELL WALKER
Dickinson Wright

In fiscal year 2024, approximately 8,492 H-1B visas were approved for workers in medicine and health occupations.1 The American Medical Association and over 50 national specialty societies and state medical associations expressed serious concerns over the $100,000 H-1B fee imposed by the Presidential Proclamation, warning that it could worsen the U.S. physician shortage, projected to reach 86,000 by 2036, including a shortage of 50,440 psychiatrists.2 The groups urged the Department of Homeland Security to exempt foreign physicians from this fee. Educators are also a major group using H-1B visas, with nearly 30,000 petitions approved in 2024, often for positions in rural areas.3

The H-1B Presidential Proclamation, effective [Read More]

Lansing Lines is presented in cooperation with MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.

AG Argues It Should Decide Venue In Medicaid Fraud Case

As the Republican-led House moved this week to curb the Michigan Attorney General’s authority — including where cases may be filed—the Attorney General’s office was simultaneously defending its venue powers before the Michigan Supreme Court.

At issue is whether the Attorney General properly brought a Medicaid fraud enforcement case in Ingham County instead of Oakland County, where the defendants argue the alleged misconduct occurred.

Appearing before the court on Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Stephanie Seery said the state should prevail because the injury caused by the alleged fraud occurred in Ingham [Read More]

By ARTHUR ALLEN & JACKIE FORTIER

The federal government has drastically scaled back the number of recommended childhood immunizations, sidelining six routine vaccines that have safeguarded millions from serious diseases, long-term disability, and death.

Just three of the six immunizations the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it will no longer routinely recommend — against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and rotavirus — have prevented nearly 2 million hospitalizations and more than 90,000 deaths in the past 30 years, according to the CDC’s own publications.

Vaccines against the three diseases, as well as those against respiratory syncytial virus, meningococcal disease, flu, and covid, are now recommended only for children at high risk of serious [Read More]

By PAULA SPAN

Year after year, Mary Bucklew strategized with a nurse practitioner about losing weight. “We tried exercise,” like walking 35 minutes a day, she recalled. “And 39,000 different diets.”

But 5 pounds would come off and then invariably reappear, said Bucklew, 75, a public transit retiree in Ocean View, Delaware. Nothing seemed to make much difference — until 2023, when her body mass index slightly exceeded 40, the threshold for severe obesity.

“There’s this new drug I’d like you to try, if your insurance will pay for it,” the nurse practitioner advised. She was talking about Ozempic.

Medicare covered it for treating Type 2 diabetes but not for weight loss, and it [Read More]

The WISeR Model: CMS’ New Venture into AI‑Driven Reviews and Its Implications for Providers

By JENNI COLAGIOVANNI & SHANIYA RAHEJA
Wachler & Associates, P.C.

On June 27, 2025, CMS announced its plan to implement the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model, purportedly designed to introduce enhanced oversight into the Medicare payment process and to ensure timely and appropriate Medicare payment for select items and services. Incorporating advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), together with human clinical review, WISeR will involve prepayment assessments of certain items and services. Beginning January 1, 2026, WISeR will be implemented in six states—Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington—for an [Read More]