The clock is ticking for the Biden Administration to push out its remaining health care and workforce safety rules. While many of the Administration’s priorities have already been addressed through regulation – such as staffing-level standards for skilled nursing facilities, reproductive health care data protections, and antidiscrimination in health care, there are a number of other issues for which rules are pending review or finalization. This includes virtual prescribing of Schedule II-controlled substances, pandemic preparedness, and COVID-19 safety for the workforce.

Virtual Prescribing of Controlled Substances

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is making its second attempt to permanently adopt some pandemic-era flexibilities for virtual prescriptions of Schedule II-controlled substances, like Adderall and testosterone, which are set to expire this year. Following its first proposed rule back in March of 2023, the DEA received thousands of comments expressing concerns about the proposal. Since then, the DEA has held listening sessions with stakeholders to develop a revised proposal that is currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The new proposed rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register sometime this month.

Health Care System Resiliency and Modernization

The Biden Administration has sought to implement changes based on learnings from the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency to ensure that the nation is adequately prepared for future emergencies. The proposed rule was sent to the OMB last year and the latest estimate for publication in the Federal Register was July 2024.

Covid Safety Precautions

Perhaps one of the more controversial rules awaiting finalization is the Occupational Exposure to COVID-19 in Healthcare Settings rule. The final rule landed on the OMB’s desk in December of 2022, where it is still awaiting review. Many states and hospitals have opposed the rule, which is strongly supported by many unions representing health care workers. OMB estimates the final rule will be published by December of this year, but with the urgency of the COVID-19 PHE now largely forgotten, the Biden Administration may choose not to finalize the rule at all.