An ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will move to a special White House post to implement the Trump administration’s plan to address chronic illness, according to two people familiar with the appointment.

Entrepreneur and author Calley Means will be a White House adviser and “special government employee"—the same classification that has allowed tech billionaire Elon Musk to retain his private-sector roles even as he tried to transform the federal bureaucracy.

Means’ role will be focused on food policy and addressing the influence of corporations on health and policy, according one person familiar with the posting. Means was formerly a consultant for the food and beverage industries.

He will also assist the Make America Healthy Again Commission that President Donald Trump created via an executive order last month. Its objective is to assess the state of chronic disease in the US and create a strategy to restructure the federal government to address it. Read More

Baby formula products are the latest targets of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s sweeping review of ingredients used in the nation’s food supply.

The FDA will comprehensively examine the nutrients used in infant formula and increase testing for heavy metals and other contaminants, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Kennedy met with CEOs from top infant formula makers Abbott Laboratories, Reckitt Benckiser Group, Perrigo, and Bobbie Baby, according to an HHS social media post.

The FDA released a long-term strategy earlier this year to help boost the resiliency of the US infant formula supply. The country encountered major shortages of baby formula in 2022, after FDA inspectors found bacteria linked to two infant deaths in Abbott’s Michigan factory and agency leaders shut down the facility. Abbott and Enfamil maker Reckitt Benckiser Group have also faced lawsuits alleging they hid potential risks of formula for infants born prematurely. Read More

• Read about Bloomberg Law’s 2023 investigation of toxic metals in baby foods here.

Drug Middlemen Delinking Bill Introduced: Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) introduced a bill Tuesday that aims to crack down on pharmacy benefit manager practices by requiring PBMs to only charge a flat fee for drug placement versus letting them continue to charge a percentage of the drug price.

• Reps. Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.), Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Rick Allen (R-Ga.), and Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) also co-sponsored Miller-Meeks’ bill.
• Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) proposed a similar policy as part of their PBM legislative package in 2023.
• Read Miller-Meeks’ bill text

Bipartisan Senate Bill Aims to Boost Collaborative Mental Health Care: Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced bipartisan legislation that would allow health-care providers to integrate mental health and substance use disorder care into their practices. The bill aims to improve access to mental health and substance use disorder care by incentivizing the take up in Medicare of a type of integrated health care called the Collaborative Care Model.

• Read an explanation of how this model works and how it differs from traditional care.
• Read the bill text

—Alex Ruoff

Premium Cigar Industry Exemption Sought: Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) is seeking to exempt the premium cigar industry from certain FDA regulations under legislation his office announced Tuesday. Read the bill text