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Kennedy’s Pullback of Public Comment Policy Make May Rules Vulnerable to Lawsuits

 
• By Jill Drachenberg

The Health and Human Services Department's decision to eliminate the Richardson Waiver may be a blow for transparency, but will not completely eliminate scrutiny of regulations, experts said.

The notice and comment provisions are one of many requirements in the APA that govern rulemaking. (Shutterstock)
Key Takeaways
  • HHS ended a long-time practice of opening some regulations to notice and comment that under the Administrative Procedure Act would be exempt.
  • The change may not fit with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s “radical transparency” policy, but will not mean regulations will not longer be subject to public scrutiny, experts said.
  • Other APA provisions remain relevant and could invite lawsuits if not followed, they said.

Experts said rescinding a decades-old policy allowing the public and industry stakeholders to comment on proposed rules is the opposite of the “radical transparency” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr

“This is surprising when you have an administration, in particular Kennedy, who promised transparency, and this is unequivocally reducing transparency,” Leonardo Cuello, a research professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s

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