The Health and Human Services Department plans to repeal a regulation that would eliminate department rules after 10 years, according to a Federal Register notice published Thursday.
The department finalized that regulation in the waning days of President Donald Trump's term. The policy, which never fully took effect, would have sunset HHS regulations after 10 years unless the department reviewed them and justified leaving them in place.
President Joe Biden's administration delayed enforcement of the rule in March; the new HHS notice spells its imminent demise.
Patient and provider groups such as the American Lung Association and the National Association of Pediatric Nurses opposed the Trump-era regulation, describing it as a "ticking time bomb" that threatened to disrupt the entire healthcare system. The lung association and others filed a lawsuit to block the rule in March.
In the Federal Register filing, HHS says the regulation would "significantly alter the operations of HHS" and have "considerable repercussions for a diverse array of stakeholders." The department cites comments it received cautioning of the rule's impact on vulnerable populations that rely on HHS programs, such as children, older people, people with disabilities, the poor and racial and ethnic minorities.
